Trapped
by typist67
Summary: Sakura's family is killed by Orochimaru and Kabuto, leaving her alone with her dog, Kaji. When two people come to her rescue and bring her to their house, what's in store for her in house full of hot looking men & what's their secret? Rape & future lemons
1. Chapter 1: Encounters & Meetings

Her feet pounded on the sidewalk as she ran away from her house. Her lungs burned trying to get air in and her legs ached as she ran for her life. She looked back and saw the two men running after her. She screamed and pushed her legs faster. Cars zoomed by, not paying attention to her. Tears streamed down at the thought that her parents could be dead, that they could be gone from her life forever. Just before she could reached the street, she tripped over a rock her hadn't seen and fell flat on her face. She scrambled to get up but they had grabbed her before she could. They dragged her into the woods as she struggled against them. One slapped her. "Keep still, pinky," he seethed.

She stopped. They brought her to a dark house that just screamed death. They threw her inside and locked all the windows and doors. The one with the long, lank black hair and pale face grabbed her roughly by her pink hair and dragged her up the stairs. She stumbled over her own feet, trying to keep herself from being completely dragged. They came to a room and he threw the door open. He tossed her on the bed. Before she could run back out the door, the white haired boy came up and began stripping her clothes off. She thrashed, begging him to leave her alone. He slapped her. "Keep still or this will hurt more than it should."

She spat in his face.

He growled and shoved a finger into her core. She cried out in pain. He began to scissor her and she grabbed the sheets, trying to get away. "Kabuto stop." The boy stopped and pulled his fingers out of her, licking them. He got behind her and pinned her arms down to the bed. The black haired one stripped off her clothes and walked to stand in front of her. She snapped her legs shut, but he forced them open, bowing his head and licking her. She cried out and tried to kick him, but he grabbed her ankles and squeezed. "Don't try anything cute, Sa-ku-ra. If you do, things could end painfully."

They heard the front door burst open. Kabuto looked at the man between Sakura's legs. "Orochimaru, the police are here."

Orochimaru cursed and then smirked. "Looks like we'll have to make it a quick-y." He shoved his erection into her. Kabuto covered her mouth as she screamed. Oro ignored her cries for him to stop and pounded into her. He leaned down and pulled her nipple into his mouth, biting down on it hard enough to draw blood. Her feet pushed at his thighs, but she didn't know that it turned on the man above her even more. He pounded into her ruthlessly. He threw his head back. "So close," he hissed.

Just then, the door swung open and someone shot his in the shoulder and the stomach. He cried out and fell to the ground. Kabuto pulled out a gun, but the person shot him before he could pull the trigger. Sakura slid back to the head of the bed, keeping her eyes shut. Orochimaru reached for her foot and grabbed her ankle. She screamed and kicked him in the face.

She looked up to see a police officer with spiky yellow hair standing in the doorway with a blanket. She ran up to him and hugged him tightly. "Don't let them get me, please."

He wrapped the blanket around her and picked her up bridal style. He carried her down the stairs and outside. Policemen passed them, gone to capture the two unconscious men. He carried her to his cruiser and opened the passenger door, setting her on the seat. She grabbed his hand. She looked into her cerulean eyes. "We need to get to my house. My parents might be dead."

He nodded. "What's your name?"

"Sakura Haruno. I'm twenty years old."

"I'm Naruto Uzamaki. Just tell me which way to go and we'll get there soon enough."

"Dobe!"

She looked behind him to see a black-haired man with onyx eyes standing directly behind him. She shrieked, surprised at his sudden appearance. He looked at her and narrowed his shrunk back into the seat. Naruto punched his arm. "Don't scare her. She's already been through enough. What's do you want Sasuke."

"Orochimaru and Kabuto are gone. We've searched the entire house and haven't found them."

She gasped. "They could be head to my house. We need to get going."

"Alright. Teme, get in the car, you're coming with us."

Sasuke slid into the car next to Sakura, pushing her over into the middle seat. Naruto got in on the driver's side and started up the car. They drove out of the woods and onto the road, heading to her house. She pointed out the corners that he needed to turn. They pulled up to a blue two-story house. There was already a police cruiser in the driveway behind her father's SUV. Naruto and Sasuke pulled out their guns and climbed out of the car. Sasuke told Sakura, "Stay in the car."

She frowned and got out anyway. She wrapped the blanket tighter around her shivering body as the cool autumn air whipped at her pink hair. They neared the house and knocked on the door. The door slowly creaked open. As soon as it did, a German shepherd tackled Sasuke to the ground. It growled in his face. He shoved it off him and stood. The dog growled lowly at him, the fur standing up.

"Kaji, tst, tst. Come here girl."

Kaji, the dog, looked at Sakura and gave a happy bark. It dashed over to her and licked her face as she kneeled down. She laughed and hugged her dog tightly. "Oh Kaji, I'm so glad you're okay. Where is mom and dad?"

Kaji laid down and covered her eyes with her paws, whimpering. Sakura gasped. "No."

She heard a gun fire and stood. "Naruto!" She cried out as she felt a searing pain in her arm. She fell to the ground. Kaji stood in a defensive stance before her. She saw Sasuke's back as her and Naruto shot at someone. Naruto ran out and came up to her. Kaji barked and snapped at him. "Dog, I'm helping her." But Kaji didn't listen.

Sakura struggled to sit up. "Kaji, tst, tst. He'll help us."

Kaji backed down. Naruto opened the back door of the car and laid her on the seat. Kaji jumped in the back and licked Sakura's cheek. She carefully patted her head. "I'm okay, Kaji. Don't worry about me."

Naruto shouted at Sasuke, "Teme, she's hurt. We need to get out of here."

Sasuke shut the door just as bullets came at him. He made a mad dash towards the car and climbed in. Naruto put the car in drive and sped off. Two figures ran out of the house, shooting at the back window of the cop car. Sakura screamed as she heard bullet shots ricocheting off the glass. Sasuke rolled down the window and shot back at them. He got one of them in the shoulder. They turned a corner and drove out of the neighborhood.

Sakura had fallen asleep while Kaji laid her head on the edge of the seat occasionally licking Sakura's cheek. Naruto pulled up to a black metal gate that stood in front of a big white mansion. He rolled down the window and typed in a code. The gates opened and he pulled into the long driveway. He turned off the car as he parked it in front of the front door. Sasuke opened the back door and Kaji jumped out. She licked Sakura's face constantly. Sakura groaned and patted her dog's nose. "What's wrong, Kaji?"

Kaji barked. She groaned and opened her eyes. Sasuke was looking down at her with a curious expression. She flushed and sat up. Sliding out of the car, he shut the door behind her. Naruto put a hand on her back and led her to the door. He pulled out a key and put it in the lock, then pushed it open. Before her stood a grand staircase that led to two hallways. She looked around amazed at the beauty of the place. She saw a man that looked similar to Sasuke standing at the top of the stairs. He scrutinized her for a minute. She hid behind Naruto, feeling uncomfortable as he watched her. He turned his head down the hallway and called, "Kakashi, they brought home another one and she has a dog with her."

A man with messy grey hair and a mask covering nose and mouth came down the hallway, stopping next to the other man. "What? I didn't hear you Itachi."

He pointed to Naruto and Sasuke. Kakashi looked and saw a pink haired girl trying to hide behind Naruto. Then he noticed the German shepherd that was growling at them. He sighed and walked down the stairs. "Why do you boys insist on bringing women back here all the time? She can't stay."

"She's gonna have to, Kakashi. She has nowhere to go. Her parents have been killed and she's been raped by Orochimaru."

"Is that why your guys left the house in such a rush?"

They nodded. The dog had yet to back down. Kakashi kneeled down and tried to pet the dog but it snapped at him. He pulled his hand back. Sakura leaned down and said, "Kaji, tst, tst. You have to be nice to the people here. I don't think that they'll attack us." Kaji whimpered at her and nudged her chin with her nose. "I know, but we have to trust them for now. If anything happens, you know what to do."

Kaji barked.

"You understand what she said?" Itachi asked.

"It's a special bond that Kaji and I have. I've had her since I was eight. She's a good dog. Just very protective."

"Well, who's the ugly old hag that you've brought here this time and why is she wearing a blanket around her?" said a new voice. She looked up and saw a man with pale skin and short black hair. He gave her a fake smile. "If you're staying here, I'm calling you Ugly."

She growled and clenched a fist by her side. "Kaji, shi." Kaji jumped at the other boy and tackled him to the ground. He threw the dog off him and pulled out a sword. Kaji snarled at him. Kakashi put a restraining hand on his shoulder. "Sai, don't attack the dog and please don't insult our guest."

"It wasn't an insult. I was telling the truth."

Naruto grabbed Sakura's hand. "Sakura-chan, I'll show you to your room. Meanwhile, Kakashi will get you some clothes that you can wear."

She nodded. "Kaji, come on girl." Kaji followed them as they walked up the stairs. Sasuke walked into the kitchen, grabbing a beer out of the fridge. Itachi came in and sat next to him.

"Tell me, Otooto, does she know what you are?"

He shook his head. "I've barely said a word to her and I doubt that Naruto's given any clues as to what we are. But what I don't get is one, why her wound is healed already. She was shot when we went to her house and now it's gone. Two, she's taking this situation better than others would. She's not scared out of her mind or screaming or anything."

"We'll just have to find out tomorrow. For now, we'll just let her sleep. You haven't had any of her blood yet, have you?"

"No, I still remember the rule that Kakashi set. I'm not stupid."

"Just checking. I'll have the other girls come over and meet her tomorrow. I'm sure Yuka will be very glad to see her."

"Hn, whatever." Itachi left the kitchen and went back upstairs. Sai came in. "Sasuke, do you like that girl?"

"Why?"

He shrugged. "That may be the one that might be able to keep your blood urges and your temper in check."

"Fuck off, Sai. Nobody asked for your opinion. Shouldn't you be upstairs fucking Ino?"

"She's asleep for your information. Don't get mad because you haven't had a good romp in ages." He chuckled at Sasuke's scowl. "See you in the morning, Sasuke-_kun_." He laughed as he went back upstairs into his room.

Sasuke just sat in the dark kitchen, drinking his beer. Fangs gleamed in the moonlight as he yawned.

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto


	2. Chapter 2: Vampires

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Naruto or anything related to it.

* * *

The next morning Sakura woke to Kaji licking her cheek. "Kaji, I'm still sleeping," she mumbled. Kaji barked and she heard her dog's stomach grumble. "Go downstairs and beg for food." She whimpered. "Don't tell me that you're afraid of them." She whimpered again.

Sakura sighed and rolled over. "Alright, you big baby. Let's go get you some food." They walked out of the room and headed downstairs into the kitchen. She went to the fridge and found a packet of bacon. "I found some bacon." Kaji barked and she laughed as she pulled out three eggs. "Alright, three strips for you and three for me and I get three eggs."

As she let the bacon cook in the pan and scrambled the eggs, Kaji sat in front of the oven, waiting patiently for her food. Sakura reached into the cupboard and took out two bowls and a plate. She put three pieces of bacon in one bowl and filled the other with water, setting them down on the ground. Kaji attacked the food as soon as it was set down in front of her, while Sakura sat on the counter, calmly eating her food. Kaji sat in front of her, giving her the puppy dog face while watching her plate. "I'm sorry but I'm hungry too."

"Good morning," Kakashi yawned behind his mask as he staggered into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Kakashi-san. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you. Are you feeling alright this morning?" He petted Kaji's head as he passed by her. She licked his hand in return and then barked.

She shrugged. "Sure, I feel fine."

"I was just worried a bit because of what happened to you yesterday. I must say though, you're taking this better than some others would."

She could hear the curiosity in his voice. "Since I got Kaji, anything traumatic that happens to me gets erased. Well, that's not true. It's like forgetting but I still remember it, like my mind is making a mental barrier, keeping it from me."

He nodded. "Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did, but you can ask another."

He chuckled. "Tell me, what do you think about vampires?"

"That they're cool and I'd like to be one. If I ever meet some, I just hope they won't suck me dry of my blood." After watching movies that had vampires in it and reading some vampire books, she was kinda interested in them. If only they existed.

"What if I told you that Kabuto and Oro are vampires?"

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "No way. Vampires don't really exist. If they did, I would be one right because I've shed so much blood in my life."

"What would you say if I told you that everyone is this house was a vampire?"

Kaji started growling when she heard this. Sakura petted her head. "Kaji, stop it." She looked up at him. "Are you sure you're not insane? Maybe I should go before anything or anyone gets hurt."

Kakashi sighed. "Sakura, I'm not joking. I'm being completely serious." He gave her a smile and she gasped. Two fangs took the place of his canines. "I really am a vampire and so is everyone else in the house."

"You're serious?"

He nodded. She jumped off the counter and dropped her plate. She ran out the front door, Kaji hot on her heels. She had no idea where she was going but she needed to get away. The only reason she said that she wanted to meet a vampire was because she thought that they didn't exist. She noted that the driveway was long and was lined by forest. She heard a car coming up behind her. Kaji barked. "I know. Make a right, now!" They turned right and ran through the trees, branches snatching at her skin and tearing her nightgown. She heard someone running up behind her. But when she looked back there was no one there. They came to a clearing and stopped, trying to catch their breath. Kaji turned around and began to growl. Sakura looked back and saw Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi standing at the tree's edge. They both backed up. She grabbed a thick tree branch that she stumbled over. She scampered to her feet and held it in front of her, her limbs shaking. Suddenly Sasuke was standing in standing in front of her. She screamed and stumbled backwards. He grabbed the branch out of her hands and threw it to the side. She turned and began to run again, but he grabbed her arm. She began to thrash around. "Leave me alone. Let me go."

He grabbed her by her shoulder and shook her. "Sakura, relax. We're not the bad guys. Orochimaru and Kabuto are the ones that you need to worry about. We're not going to hurt you."

She didn't listen to him. "Kaji, shi now!"

Kaji tackled Sasuke from behind. He let go of her and flung the dog off him. Sakura had already taken off, dashing through the trees. She was scared that Sasuke had hurt Kaji. The though of turning around and going back for her dog crossed her mind. But Kaji would probably just nudge her away, trying to keep her safe. Her foot caught on a tree root and she tripped, falling flat on her face. She struggled to get up. Before she could take off again, someone grabbed her by her waist. She screamed, kicked and punched. She was spun around and saw Naruto."Sakura-chan, please stop. We're not going to hurt you. We're the good vampires that only drink animal blood. Orochimaru and Kabuto are the bad vampires. They'll kill you, we'll protect you."

She fell to her knees, crying. Kakashi and Sasuke caught up to them. She looked around, looking for her dog. She was about to call her name when she saw her coming towards her. She hugged her tightly, sobbing into her fur. Kaji licked her face. Kakashi kneeled down and touched her shoulder and she didn't flinch away. "Sakura, now that you know what we are, you cannot tell anyone at all, okay?" She nodded. Naruto came and picked her up bridal style. She wrapped her arms around his neck. Sasuke picked up Kaji and they ran back to the house.

When they got back inside, Naruto set her down on the couch in the living room. A boy with long brown hair and pale lavender eyes watched her. The other boy had spiky dark brown hair pulled up in a ponytail. He was asleep on the floor next to the fireplace. Naruto looked at the pale eyed boy. "Neji, this is Sakura. I'm sure Kakashi told ya about her last night."

He nodded and looked at her. "It's nice to meet you Sakura. The name's Neji Hyuuga. The one asleep on the floor is Shikamaru Nara. Don't expect him to do much."

"I'm not asleep, pale eyes. I'm resting my eyes," Shikamaru said, not opening his eyes. She giggled a bit. Kaji walked over to him and sniffed his hair then licked his face. He sat up and gagged, wiping his face off. She laughed. Shikamaru looked at Kaji as she gave him a smile, her tongue hanging out. "Who let the troublesome dog in the house?" Kaji just barked, smile gone.

"Um, Shikamaru, she doesn't like to be called a dog. She's rather be called by her name which is Kaji."

"Why'd you name her fire?"

"Because when I first got her for Christmas and we had the fire going, she could always be found sitting in front of the fireplace. Besides, that's the only name she'll answer to. Isn't that right, Kaji?" She barked and Sakura laughed.

"So, Orochimaru's been at you, huh?" Neji asked.

"Yeah, he came to my house and tried to drag me into his car, but I was able to get away. But my parents obviously didn't make it since I'm here. I don't think I want to return back there. I'm probably too afraid to even go back in the neighborhood."

"So, how come you're so calm about this? Most would be shaking and crying and all that."

Sasuke, Sai, and Itachi walked in. Naruto sat beside her.

"It's because ever since I got Kaji, anything traumatic that happens to me gets "erased." It's like forgetting but still remembering it. I've had Kaji since I was eight." Kaji came up to and licked her hand. She patted her head. "Kaa-san used to say that Kaji is my protector and keeps my mind safe, somehow. I still don't understand what she means, but I'm sure I will sooner or later."

"Seems stupid if you ask me, Ugly," Sai said.

Kaji growled at him. "Kaji, yameru." Sakura stood and walked up to Sai. She reared her fist back and punched him in the face. He went sailing back into the kitchen and crashed into the chairs, knocking them on top of him.

Sakura held her fist up. "Keep calling me ugly and it'll be worse than that. I was holding myself back." She looked at everyone else in the room as they stared at her with wide eyes. "What?"

"How'd you do that?" Itachi asked.

"I inherit it from my mom. She had inhuman strength, even though it didn't look like it. My sister has it too; I just don't know where she is. She just suddenly up and left one day without saying anything to us. We even hired a search team to try and find her, but they came up empty handed. I wish I could find her."

"I'm sure you'll find her soon," Itachi said, putting a hand on her shoulder. She gave a small smile before she whistled at Kaji. "Come on, girl." Kaji barked and followed her master up the stairs, heading back to the room that they were in. Back downstairs, the boys were sitting around, talking about the pinkette that had just went upstairs. "Itachi, doesn't Sakura-chan kinda look like Yuka?"

"That's because they're sisters, dobe," Sasuke said. "They both have pink hair and emerald eyes. I don't there's anyone else that has that color combination and it be natural."

Shikamaru sighed. "This is troublesome. Where is Yuka anyway?"

"She left with Ino this morning to go meet up with Hinata, TenTen, and Temari at the mall," Naruto replied. "Kakashi invited them over for dinner tonight."

"That'll be a good time for them to get to know each other," Neji said. The others nodded. Sai sat in a chair, sketching on his notepad. "Sai, what are you drawing now?"

"Something and nothing."

They all sighed. _It's not worth._ Just then the doorbell rang. The scent of the person on the other side of the door wafted through the house. All eyes turned to Sasuke. "It's for you." He sighed and stood, heading for the door.

* * *

Upstairs, Sakura had snuck into Sasuke's room and found what she was looking for. She found a six string guitar sitting on a stand near his bed. She sat on his bed and tuned it a bit before beginning to play a tune that she remembered playing as her older sister played the piano. (A/N: Look up the song Indigo (With Guitar) by Yiruma.) Kaji laid by her feet, listening to her play. She heard the doorbell ring but just ignored it. She continued to play and didn't notice that someone had come into the room until Kaji nudged her leg. She looked up and saw Sasuke with a girl that had red hair that was long in the front and short in the back. She had red piercing eyes and black-rimmed glasses and glared at Sakura. Sasuke stalked up to her and snatched the guitar out of her hands. He pointed to the door. "Out!" he shouted.

She cringed and walked out of the room while Kaji followed close by. She turned to apologize, but Sasuke slammed the door closed in her face. She blew a raspberry at the door before storming over into her room. She went to her closet and searched through the clothes that had mysteriously appeared over night. She found a red plaid skirt and grey off-shoulder mid-drift that had a golden crown in the middle of her chest. She went to her drawer and found a pair of black and red striped knee-high socks. She slipped them on and then pulled on the black combat boots that were neatly put in the closet. She kneeled down and kissed the top of her dog's head. "Kaji, I'm going out really quickly. I want to go see if I can get a guitar of my own. You have to stay here though, okay?"

Kaji laid down and covered her eyes, whimpering. Sakura sighed. "I know, I'm sorry. Just stay in here. If one of the guys comes in here, don't attack unless they hit you first okay?" She barked. "Good girl. Stay here and I'll be back in about an hour." She stood and walked out of the room, making sure to close it all the way.

She walked down the stairs and found Kakashi in the kitchen, reading a book called Make-Out Paradise. "Kakashi-san?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think I can go out and get a guitar and some dog food?"

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet, setting his book down. "I meant to give you this credit card this morning, but freaked out on us and ran." He handed her the card. "Spend as much money as you like because I have so much money I can burn it. When you get back, the code is 41571."

She laughed at his small joke. "Thank you, Kakashi. I'll be back soon." She grabbed Naruto's keys off the hook by the door and went outside. She went outside to see a line of fancy cars lining the separate garage. She pressed the unlock button and a silver Lamborghini flashed its lights. She grinned at the awesome car that she would be driving. She got into the car and pulled out of the driveway. The gates opened as she neared and closed behind her as she drove towards the mall.


	3. Chapter 3: Yuka & Unwanted

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Naruto or anything related to it.

* * *

As she walked around with her arms full of bags, she couldn't help but notice that she would catch a glimpse of pink hair, and she knew that it wasn't from her seeing herself in the glass windows of the stores. She stopped at the food court and set her guitar case down and her bag of dog stuff. She stirred the mango smoothie that she had bought. She let her eyes wander around, just drinking in the sight of people laughing, gossiping, and couples cuddling together. She smiled when she saw little kids running around chasing each other. A little girl tripped and fell. She sat up, crying. A boy that reminded her of Sasuke came up to her, with a lollipop and handed it to her. She sniffled and took it while he smoothed her hair down. She gave him a small smile and then giggled.

Sakura couldn't help but smile at the scene. Taking another sip of her drink, she looked away from the peaceful scene and spotted a woman with hot pink hair laughing with some other girls. She nearly dropped her drink. The girl looked so much like her sister Yuka. She snapped her eyes shut and shook her head. Yuka was out some where wandering around, not just sitting ten feet away from her. The woman looked at her and she quickly looked away.

She kept her head down, not wanting to chance getting caught even glancing at her. Suddenly, there was someone sitting in front of her. She gasped as the pink-haired woman sat down in the chair across from her. They held each others gaze, analyzing each other and trying to figure out why the other looked so familiar, besides the obvious reasons of their hair color and eyes.

"Where do I know you from?" she asked.

She had to play it cool, which she wasn't good at that well. So, she just shrugged. "Maybe we bumped into each other on accident. I don't know."

She hummed. "You look more familiar than that, like I've known you longer then just bumping into you. What's your name? My name is Yuka Haruno."

Sakura bowed her head and let a lone tear slide down her cheek. She looked back up. "Yuka, where have you been? I've missed you so much and so have Kaa-chan, Tou-san, and Kaji. Why did you leaving us?"

Yuka's face softened and she stood, hugging her sister tightly across the table. "Oh, Sakura-chan. I've missed you so much. I can't believe I've been able to find you after so long. I'm so sorry I left so suddenly. Please forgive me, imooto."

Sakura clung to her sister tightly, wailing into her shoulder. Yuka rubbed her back gently. "Yuka, m-mom and d-dad, they're gone. They're dead. I'm sorry."

Yuka pulled the chair up next to her and they hugged each other tightly; Sakura sobbing and hiccuping while Yuka silently cried. They sat there for a few minutes, just holding and crying. They pulled back and wiped their tears and began to laugh. "Look at us, Saku-chan, sitting here in public and crying."

Sakura just laughed and wiped her cheeks.

"So, mom and dad are gone?" Sakura nodded. "What about Kaji?"

"I don't know if I'd be here if Kaji died." She leaned in close. "Orochimaru raped me while Kabuto held me down."

Yuka gasped. "Oh god Sakura, are you okay? You're not hurt are you?"

She shook her head and gave a small smile. "Two police officers saved me and brought me to their house. Since Kaa-chan and Tou-san are dead they took Kaji and I in."

She gave a sigh of relief. "What are these police officers names?"

"Naruto and Sasuke. They live with some others whose names are Neji, Shikamaru, Sai, and Itachi. Kakashi is probably like their 'father' or whatever."

Yuka grinned. "Oh, Sakura you're in such goods hands. I know that little group of men. They're an interesting bunch, aren't they?"

"Yeah, I didn't know they were vampires."

She sighed. "Sak, that's why I left. I was out one night with some friends and a vampire attacked our group. He killed the group except for me. He turned me. I couldn't go near you guys because if I did, I would kill you. I couldn't leave you a note or anything letting you know that I was okay. I found Itachi not too long after and he helped me get used to be a vampire." Sakura noticed that Yuka's cheeks were turning red as she spoke about Itachi.

"Yuka, are you and Itachi…together?"

"You make it sound like it a dirty word!"

"Well, I'm not trying to. I'm sorry if I am. It's just surprising, but I guess I can see why you two are together."

She smiled. "I'm glad that you approve of him." They laughed.

"Yuka, do vampires have a sort of power, like reading minds or something like that?"

"Kakashi can read minds so be careful with what you think around him. Sasuke and Itachi have a thing called the Sharingan in their eyes. Don't ask me what it does because I don't know. Sai can draw pictures and make them come to life. Neji has something called the Byakugan in his eyes and his cousin, Hinata, has it too. Like I said, I don't know what it does. You'll have to ask one of them. Shikamaru can manipulate shadows or something like that. Also, Kakashi has the Sharingan but only in one eye. Naruto has something called the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed within him. If his anger goes out of whack, then the seal will allow the Kyuubi to be released a bit."

"What about you?"

"I have something called the Shirayuki. It can look through a person's memories and whatever the person fears the most or whatever their death fear is, it becomes a reality and kills them. It can do other things, but I'll let you know about that later, if you become a vampire."

A girl with long blonde hair pulled up into a high ponytail and sky blues eyes came up to them. She grabbed Yuka's arm and pulled her to her feet. "Yuka-chan, what are you doing talking to this girl? You never just get up and talk to strangers like that. Are you okay?"

She pulled her arm out of the blonde's grasp. "First off, Ino, I'm fine. Second, this isn't a stranger. This is my younger sister that I tell you about sometimes. Ino, this is Sakura. Sakura, this is Ino, one of my friends."

Sakura stood and held her hand out. "Nice to meet you, Ino."

Ino just glared at her. Sakura put her hand down, slightly embarrassed. Yuka hit Ino on the head. "Ino, be nice. I know you hate every other girl that isn't in our group but this is my sister. Be nice to her."

"She's a human!"

"So what?!"

"Aren't you worried that one of us could drink her blood?"

"No, because she's a pretty kick-ass fighter, like me." She looked at Sakura. "Grab your stuff and come with me. We're going to go ahead and leave. I need you to take me some where. Ino, tell the others I'll meet them at Kakashi's later tonight for dinner." They walked away before Ino could give them an answer.

When they reached the silver Lamborghini, Sakura threw the things in the trunk and then climbed into the driver's seat. "Where is it that you want me to take you?"

She bit her lip before saying, "Back to where they were killed."

"Yuka, I don't know if I can go back there. I'm afraid of that place now."

"Sakura, all you have to do is drop me off there. That's all. I promise."

She sighed. "Fine." She put the car in drive and drove to the neighborhood in which she grew up in. She slowed down and turned into the neighborhood. She drove slowly, dreading going near the place. She stopped in front of the house. Yuka just stared that their blue, two-story house. "Sak, I'm only going to be a minute, do you think you'll last that long?"

She nodded and Yuka gave her a smile and then a kiss on the forehead. "I'm glad that I've found you, Sak and I'm glad that you're alright." She got out of the car and shut the door behind her, walking up to the house slowly. Sakura turned on the radio and flipped to find a distracting station before laying her head on the steering wheel. She waited a couple minutes before the door opened again. Yuka had a plastic bag with her. "What did you do?"

"I went to the shrine behind the house and prayed for Kaa-san and Tou-san. Then I grabbed a bag and grabbed some of the things that we would need. I know you don't ever want to come here again so I grabbed all that seemed necessary for you and for me. I see that they didn't get rid of my room."

She sighed. "No, they couldn't bring themselves to do that."

They looked at each other for a few minutes before Sakura looked away and put the car into drive. "I was invisible after you left. I wish you had been smarter than that Yuka. I mean you went and got drunk and did drugs that night. Our parents blamed me for your addiction to the crap. They looked down upon me. You were the only thing that kept them happy with me."

"I'm sorry, imooto."

"No, you're not because you always encouraged them to 'help' me be as perfect as you. In case you haven't realized yet, Yuka, everyone is different. It may seem like two people are completely alike, but somewhere inside of them, they are completely different. I will never be you and you will never be me. You could never be so helpless that you get raped by the most hated vampire in the world!" She slammed on the brakes and opened the door. "Drive to Kakashi's house. I'm going back home. Don't expect me to go back there. I'm unwanted and invisible. I'm not important!" She snapped the car door shut and ran back to the house that she grew up in. She pushed open the door and found her parents bodies laying twisted on the floor. Shutting the door, she walked up to them, standing and watching them almost as if they would suddenly come to life again and for her to do the crappy work around the house.

She didn't know how long she stood there because what seemed like only a couple of minutes was really hours. When she ran back to the house, it must've been about three in the afternoon. Now as she looked at the clock, it was nearly eight. She flopped back into the couch that was behind her and massaged her stiff and aching legs. The stench of molding blood and rotting skin filled her nose and she blanched. "It almost puts a smile on my face to see you guys dead, but that would be wrong. What did Yuka have or do that was so fantastic that you wanted me to follow in her footsteps? What she was aiming for was not what I wanted to do!" she shouted. She berated herself for shouting at dead bodies. She could see all her friends just laughing at her insanity. She hung her head. The problem was…she didn't have any friends. The people she blamed were Yuka and her parents. Well, she couldn't blame Yuka much but she sure blamed her parents. Kaji, her dog, was the only friend that she had. That's why Kaji wanted to be by her side all the time. They were practically inseparable.

She stood after her legs stopped aching and gave one last glare at her parents' dead bodies and then dashed out of the house. She sprinted down the roads, glad that she had taken track when her parents weren't pestering her. She made it the mansion in an hour and a half, only having to have stopped once to catch a quick breather. She rattled her brain to remember the code that Kakashi had told her. She cursed at her scrambled mind and pressed the button, buzzing them from inside. The wind picked up and blew cold wind right into her face. She hugged herself as she shivered. She pressed the button again. Did they suddenly forget about her? She remembered Yuka saying something about meeting her friends at Kakashi's for dinner. Were they eating, laughing with each other and forgetting that she even existed. She had told Yuka that she wasn't going to come back.

_Great,_ she thought. _Now, I'm homeless and unwanted. Guess I'll have to start making a poster. Tired, hungry, and will work for food._

She was about to walk away when she heard a man's voice call through the speaker. "Hello?"

She pressed the speaker button. "Please, I need to get in."

"Who is this?"

She frowned. They really had forgotten about her. "It's Sakura." The wind howled and whistled and she had to take a step to the side to catch her balance.

"Sorry, don't know a Sakura. Leave or you'll get killed."

She nearly cried. She was right. She really was unwanted. She was about to turn away when she suddenly remember the code. She cursed herself and then punched the numbers in. The gates opened slowly and she ran through, running up to the door. She pounded, hoping that she was wrong about being invisible. The door opened and Naruto stood there wearing jeans and an orange t-shirt. He grinned at her. "I knew you'd come back, Sakura-chan."

She looked at him puzzled. "What? But the person who answered when I buzzed said that they didn't know me."

"That must've been Sasuke-teme. Don't mind him." He held a hand out for her. She stared at it for a minute before flashing a small smile and taking his hand. He pulled her inside and closed the door behind her. It was all warm and toasty inside, but she was still shivering. Naruto grabbed a blanket from the living room and draped it around her shoulders. "You didn't run here, did you?"

She blushed and nodded. Kaji came bounding down the stairs and tackled her to the ground. She laughed as Kaji licked her face all over. "Kaji, you silly dog! Get up!"

Kaji stopped licking her and barked. She sat up and scratched her behind the ears. "Did you miss me, Kaji-chan?"

She barked. Sakura stood and wrapped the blanket back around her. "Well, I'll go upstairs and change my clothes." She looked at Naruto. "Where is everyone?"

He jabbed his thumb behind him. "In the living room. Kakashi is cooking so it might take a while."

Kakashi poked his head out of the kitchen. "Don't insult my cooking, Naruto. Its not my fault that none of the women in the house can cook."

"That'' not true," Sakura interrupted. "I used to make dinner for my family all the time. I can cook and I'm a woman."

"Well, what are you waiting for, Sakura-chan? Hurry up and change your clothes. We need your hands in the kitchen to help Kakashi."

She laughed and threw herself at him. He was surprised but then hugged her back. "Thank you, Naruto-kun." She reached up and kissed his cheek and then ran up the stairs into her room.


	4. Chapter 4: Dinner

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Naruto or anything related to it.

* * *

_Clink, Clink, Slurp, Clink, Scrape, Clink…_

"Sakura-chan, this is delicious. How'd you learn o make this?"

"It's a secret recipe. I'm glad that you like it, Naruto." When Sakura had come back downstairs into the kitchen and had Kaji start helping her cook, Kakashi was a little worried that the food wouldn't turn out as good. But it turned out to be better than he had thought.

"I must say, Sakura," Kakashi said, "This is the best food I've had in ages."

She smiled. "Thank you." She couldn't help but notice that Ino and a dirty blonde would glare at her every now and again. She shifted uncomfortably in her chair. Another that seemed to glare at her the most was the red head that she had seen with Sasuke earlier. She noticed the two puncture holes in her neck.

"So, pinky," the red-head started, "I hear you're living with this family now."

"Is that a problem with you?"

"Yes it is because you could try and steal Sasuke away from me."

Sakura just laughed. "Please, you can have him. I'm not interested in him. He's all yours."

"You're just saying that because you're thinking of a way to steal him from me."

"Or…you're just paranoid."

"I'm not paranoid."

"Sure seems like it to me."

"But I'm not paranoid."

"All I said was it just seems like it to me. There's not need to throw a hissy-fit."

The girl stood up and so did Sakura. Their glares locked and the tension in the air sky-rocketed.

Yuka stood. "Karin, I have to agree with Sakura. You are paranoid. She said that she had no interest in Sasuke; end of discussion."

Karin was flabbergasted. "You can't honestly side with this…thing, can you? I mean you've known me longer than you've known her."

"Hey, don't talk about me like I'm not here."

"Can I interject?" Kakashi said hesitantly.

All three girls glared at him and said, "No!" at the same time. He shrunk back in his chair.

"Karin, Sakura is my younger sister and you'll treat her with some respect."

Ino stood. "Why? What makes her more special that the rest of us?"

"I'm not more special."

The dirty blonde stood. "You sure do act like it."

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do and you know it, you filthy little whore!" Karin yelled.

Everything went quiet. Sakura's pupils shrunk until they were just dots. Kaji nudged the back of her leg with her nose, but she didn't move. Naruto stood up beside her and touched her shoulder. "Sakura-chan, are you alright?"

She flinched away from his touch, her eyes coming back into focus. "Please, forgive me for being rude. I didn't mean to cause such a commotion at the table. Excuse me." She turned and left the dining room. They all heard her run up the stairs with Kaji on her heels and then slam the door shut.

Yuka grew angry and slammed her hands on the tabletop. "What's wrong with you three? You make a big deal out of nothing. All I asked was that you show her a little respect. I can't believe you guys."

"What is so special about her?" Ino asked, fuming.

"Nothing. Guys, our family's dead and she's been raped by one of the most hated vampires in the world and her only friend is Kaji, the dog. You guys are so heartless."

"Just because your sister's here doesn't mean you should have a change of heart so suddenly, _Yuka_," Karin sneered.

Yuka seethed and got ready to jump across the table and strangle the red head, but Itachi held her back. "Karin, I want you out of this house!" she shouted. "You're a fucking bitch and you know it."

"You can't kick me out."

"Karin, it would be best if you left," Sasuke said sternly. Everyone was surprised that he had agreed with everyone else and not Karin.

"But, Sasuke-kun…"

"Leave, Karin. You're obviously causing a disruption here and you're not helping to solve it, so leave."

She huffed and stormed out of the house. As soon as the door slammed shut, Sasuke stood. "I'm going to get Sakura and bring her back downstairs so we can finish eating dinner." He left before they could say anything. They all looked at each other. "Is it just me, or is Sasuke acting a bit weird?" TenTen asked out loud.

"It's just you," Sasuke called back. TenTen flushed.

Upstairs, Sakura sat on the edge of her bed, crying into her hands. Kaji had laid on her head on her knees, internally wishing to somehow cheer her master up. Sakura jumped when she heard a knock on her door. "Go away. I don't want to see anyone." The door opened and she grabbed a pillow, throwing it at whoever had entered.

"Is that really how you greet people?"

She looked up as she heard his voice. Sasuke stood there with her pillow clutched in his hand. He walked over to the bed and put it down. He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down at her as he stood in front of her.

"Are you coming back downstairs to finish dinner?" She shook her head. "Hn."

"What are you up here for? Nobody wants me around so I should just stay up here, all alone."

"Is that what you really want?"

She was quiet as she stared down at her feet as she twiddled her toes together. He waited patiently for her answer, but heard her stomach gurgle instead. He quirked an eyebrow at her as she blushed madly.

"It seems that you're still hungry, right?"

She nodded. "Can I have some of the taiyaki that I made for everyone?"

"You want me to bring you up some taiyaki?" She nodded and he sighed. "I'm only doing this once."

She looked up and nodded quickly. He turned and left, silently closing the door behind him. She looked down at Kaji. "Do you think that maybe he might care a little for me?" Kaji stared back her blankly. "I didn't think so."

Sasuke came down into the dining room and grabbed a clean plate. He piled three of fish-shaped pastries onto it and walked back out, carrying his plate of food with him. Everyone looked at each other confused. "Sakura's not coming down to eat," he called from the stairs. He came to her door and opened it with is elbow and found her sitting in the same position as he left her.

She looked up. "How come you have another plate?"

"If I eat downstairs with them, I'll probably go crazy." He sat next to her and handed her the plate of taiyaki. She took it and began to nibble on the pastry. It was quiet between them as they ate.

"Sakura."

"Hm?"

"Why were you so bothered by what they said?"

"Because before Yuka left, my father would always force me to be like her. My mom did the same thin but on a more subtle level. That's partly why I didn't cry when I found out they were dead. After Yuka left, my father would call me a whore or slut because they thought I was the reason that Yuka started doing drugs and alcohol and smoking before she became a vampire. Then, they gave me all the chores to do around the house while they sat on their asses. My parents would host parties often and I would be sent to my room with dinner and dessert and couldn't come out until the next morning. Sometimes I wondered if I was just a mistake and I still wonder that."

"What were your parents' names?"

"Miako and Meijin. My mom's sister's name is Tsunade and she and my uncle are the only ones that really cared for me after Yuka left."

"I think Kakashi knows your aunt. But it could be another Tsunade." He just shrugged to himself.

"To tell you the truth, my mom didn't have inhuman strength. It was my aunt. She had taught me and Yuka how to get strong like her. Mom and dad never approved of her teaching us that stuff, but she didn't care what they said. She hated them anyway."

He smirked. Their plates were clear of food and it was quiet. Kaji had fallen asleep under her feet and she giggled at her sleeping dog. Sasuke took her plate and stood. Kaji lifted her head and watched him. "I thought you were asleep." She barked. "I have no idea what you said." He set the plates on the dresser. "You should go to sleep. You have a long day tomorrow."

"What do you mean?"

"We have school in the morning. We have to get up at five in the morning."

"How old are you guys in human years anyway?"

"Technically, twenty-two to twenty-four. But we only go to the school to protect the humans from any trouble-making vampires. There's about one hundred vampires in the school, including the teachers. You'll be able to tell who's what."

She nodded. He turned to leave with the plates. "Hey, Sasuke?" He looked back at her. "Thank you for listening and for staying with me."

"Whatever. Just don't touch my guitar," he smirked.

"I already got one of my own today. It's in the closet."

"Hn, whatever." With that, he left. She got up and changed into her nightgown. Climbing into her bed, she patted Kaji's head, snuggled into her bed, and drifted off.

* * *

Sorry i took so long to update, but my computer was being stupid and school's been piling me up with homework.


	5. Chapter 5: Guardian

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Be–Crash!_

"Stupid alarm clock," she mumbled. Without opening her eyes, she had thrown the alarm clock against the wall, resulting in it breaking into a million pieces. Kaji jumped on the bed and began to lick her cheek. "Not now, give me ten more minutes and I'll feed you." She pulled the covers over her head.

Someone turned the knob on the door slowly and quietly. Sakura's eyes opened as she heard the person tip-toe into her room. Her hand grasped the kunai she kept hidden under her pillows. She jumped up and threw the weapon at the person's head. It whizzed past him and hit the wall out in the hall. Sasuke stopped just before it hit his face. He turned his glare towards the room it came from.

Naruto stood stock still trying to get over hi initial shock. Sakura stood on her bed in a fighting mode. "Naruto, what the hell are you doing sneaking into my room?!"

He shook his head. "You're the one that's throwing weapons at me. I heard your alarm clock smash so I came to wake you up."

"For what? And who the clock in my room?"

"Kakashi did and we have to go to school."

She groaned. Sasuke walked in the room, holding the kunai. "Whose kunai?"

Sakura jumped off the bed and snatched it out of his hand, walking to the bathroom. "It's mine."

After everyone had eaten breakfast, they all piled into their own cars except for Sakura, since she had used Naruto's car the day before. Itachi pulled in front of her and rolled down his window. She saw her sister sitting in the passenger seat. "There's a motorcycle in the garage with a helmet for you. We didn't know what color to get you so we got a red one."

"Thank you very much, Onii-san." She ran into the garage and found a blood red motorcycle with a blood red helmet hanging off one of the handle bars. As she swung her leg over it and slipped the helmet on, Sasuke walked into the garage. He threw something at her. It was a red Dolce & Gabbana bag. "Why do you all assume I like red?"

He shrugged and climbed into the car that was next to her. She slung the beg onto her shoulders and pulled out of the garage. She followed the other cars to the school that they went to. As Sasuke drove in his dark blue Camaro, Sakura moved in front of him. His eyes widened and he felt his pants get tighter. Because the uniform for the girls consisted of a short white skirt and they were driving on the highway, it blew her skirt up and he could see her lacy black thong. His eyes narrowed. She was teasing him, but that didn't stop the fact that he was getting aroused by just seeing her thong.

They came to the school and they all parked in sports close to the school. Sasuke grabbed Sakura's arm and dragged her into the school, through the halls, and into the equipment closet for gym. He locked the door and pushed her against the wall. "Why?" he snarled.

She quivered. "Why what?"

"Why are you doing this to me?"

"I don't understand."

"Coming here you purposefully rode in front of me to tease me with the thong of yours." Her face turned apple red and he smirked. "So, I was right?"

"Of course not," she retorted. "I don't even like you."

"Is that so?" He leaned down and nuzzled her neck with his nose. Hooking one of her legs around his waist, he pressed himself against her. She bit her lip to stifle a moan. He smirked and pressed his fangs against her skin, lapping his tongue across her flesh. "I really think otherwise."

She struggled against him. Her mind thought back to a couple days ago when Orochimaru raped her. She gasped and shoved him away from her as she began to cry. He looked down at her as she curled into a ball. "Make him stop," she mumbled. "Please…don't let him touch me."

He unlocked the door and walked out as the bell for first period rang. He walked into class a few minutes later. Kakashi looked at him. "Glad that you wanted to join us, Sasuke."

"Hn."

"Do you know where our new student is?"

He sat at his desk next to Karin. "Like I care. It's not my place to watch over her."

Kakashi sighed. "Naruto, could you please go find out new student?"

He stood. "Sure, sensei." He left the room and followed her scent to the equipment closet, only to find her not there. He turned and followed the scent down the halls, until he found her curled up on the floor in the art room, sobbing. He picked her up and she thrashed. "Don't touch me!"

"Sakura-chan, calm down. It's me, Naruto. I'm not going to hurt you."

She clung to him and cried in his shoulder. "Oh, Naruto…"

"It's okay, Sakura-chan. Just tell me what's wrong."

"Sas-Sasuke…he reminded me of Orochimaru."

He tightened his grip on her. "What did he do?"

She hiccupped. "He-he molested me."

He stood with her in arms. He carried her back to the classroom and set her down on the floor outside the room. He opened the door and asked Kakashi to come out. Everyone sat quietly and waited for their sensei to return. As Karin grabbed his hand in hers, Sasuke had that feeling that he knew something was going to happen to him. Kakashi poked his head in. "Sasuke, could you come out here for a minute?"

"Hn." He let go of her hand and stood. Out in the hall, he saw Sakura with her knees pulled to her chest. "What do you want?" he asked.

As soon as she heard his voice, her head snapped towards him. In a flash she had a kunai in her hand and she sliced his cheek. His eyes widened before he grabbed her by the wrists and shoved her against the wall, he cheek pressed against the wall. "Let go of me!" He ignored her and grabbed her weapon. She kicked her leg back and it connected with his crotch. He let out a choked groan and his body stiffened. He rolled off of her, trying his hardest not to make a sound.

If he was anyone weaker, he'd be crying out in pain, rolling around on the floor in fetal position. But his Uchiha pride had him just laying there and taking deep breaths as Sakura slid to the floor. Naruto crouched down next to him. "You alright, teme?"

It took him a couple seconds to form a coherent thought. "Why don't you have someone slam their knee into your crotch with inhuman strength and tell me how that feels?' he hissed.

"What's going on here?"

Everyone looked up to see Itachi and Neji walking down the hall towards them. Sasuke took one last breath before sitting up. He glared at Sakura. She glared back and grabbed her weapon in her hand. She lunged at him and knocked him to the side. The other four watched at they rolled on the floor, both trying to be the dominant one. He pinned her to the ground, knocking the kunai out of her hand. She pushed her feet against his chest and flipped him off her.

Itachi wrapped his arms around her, pinning her arms to her side. Sasuke stood and glared at the pink-haired girl. She glared back equally as hard. "Sakura, do you think you two can settle this when we get home?"

She huffed and got out of his arms, picking up the kunai and shoving it in the holster on her thigh. She stormed down the halls towards the parking lot.

"Sakura, make sure you're home by dinner," Kakashi called after her. She stopped and looked back at him. He nodded his head and she nodded back. She dashed out of the building and jumped onto her motorcycle. She revved it up and rode away from the school.

* * *

Yuka sat in her classroom, messing around with her pencil while other struggled to finish the test. Itachi and Neji walked back into the class. Their sensei, Asuma, just nodded to them.

Itachi sat next to Yuka and took her hand in his. "Your sister left, Yuka," he whispered so softly that only vampire ears would pick it up.

"Where'd she go?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Sasuke pissed her off. That's all I know."

"When the lunch bell rings, I'm going to look for her."

He nodded. "I'll talk to Sasuke."

"No, I want to set him straight. He needs to understand some things about my sister. I will not stand for your younger brother to treat her so badly."

* * *

She sat in a diner, swirling the spoon around in her cup of coffee. She set the spoon on the napkin next to the mug and took a sip. Licking her rose red lips, she set the cup down. It was quiet. The only other person in the diner was a man probably in his early thirties with messy brown hair. She looked down into the cup and barely saw her reflection in the drink. Her eyes narrowed.

_Stupid Sasuke. What's his problem anyway Why does he have to pick on me? What did I ever do to him?_

She felt a tear slip down her cheek. She wiped it away and took another sip of her coffee. She sighed and slipped the white blazer off her shoulder. She had to admit that she loved the school's uniform. It consisted of a white blazer that was sewn together with black thread. The shirt she wore underneath was a thin black button up shirt, which was put together with a red ribbon bow. The skirt was white and obviously was short. The socks were thigh high and she wore white knee high boots with it. And apparently all the girls in the school had to wear a white or black colored rose clip in their hair. Sakura chose black.

The bell above the door jingled as two men walked in. Sakura gasped silently. Both men were wearing trench coats, but the taller one had long black hair and paper white skin while the other had white hair and black rimmed glasses. She ducked her head down and watched them out of the corner of her eye as they sat on the other side of the diner. While they looked at the menu, she fished around in her bag for money. She threw it on the table and pulled her blazer on quickly. Grabbing her bag, she stood and briskly exited the diner. She swung her leg over the bike and pulled her helmet on.

Her ears picked up the sound of the bell ringing again. She looked and saw black-haired man walking towards her. She kicked the kickstand up and turned to speed out of the parking lot, but he caught onto her hair. She cried out at the violent yank and felt him press his face into her neck, inhaling deeply. "My, my, Sakura, you smell even more heavenly than before."

"Orochimaru…" she whimpered.

His hands grabbed the handle bars and he pulled her back into the parking spot she pulled out of. She just sat there as he pulled the helmet off her head. He took her hand, kissed it gently, and pulled her off the bike. "Sakura, my beautiful blossom, please come join us for some lunch."

She shook her head furiously, trying to get him to let go of her. "No, please let go of me."

He grabbed the back of her neck and tilted her head to the side. Scraping his fangs along her flesh, he broken the skin and lapped at the blood that seeped out. She began to cry as he sunk his fangs into the junction of her neck and shoulder. She beat on his back with her fists, but it didn't faze him in the least. He pulled away and licked his lips. "Your blood is very delicious, Sakura. I'll ask you once more, will you come and join us for lunch?"

She nodded in surrender. He grinned and picked her up bridal style, carrying her back into the diner. He set her down next to Kabuto in the booth and sat across from them. Sakura kept her head down as tears fell like waterfalls down her face. Kabuto put a finger under her chin and lifted her chin so that she looked at him. "Why is the blossom crying?"

She slapped his hand away. "Don't touch me," she bit out.

Kabuto smirked and leaned in close to her face. "You hold no authority over me, Sakura." His hands came up and roughly cupped her breasts. She cried out as he handled her roughly. One of his hands came up and ripped the ribbon from around her neck and unbuttoned the top four buttons of her top. He leaned in and licked the valley of her breasts. She tried pushing him away but he wouldn't budge. She only had one option left.

"Help me! Someone help me! Please!" she screamed. All the heads of the staff turned and looked at them. Orochimaru cursed and hissed at Kabuto to leave her alone. He let go of her and she fell backwards, out of the booth. She scrambled to her feet and ran out of the diner. Her mind was so fogged up that she didn't realize that she ran into someone until she fell on the concrete. She looked up and saw Itachi and Yuka standing above her.

Yuka kneeled down next to her. "Imooto, what's going on? Are you okay?"

She threw herself in her sister's arms. "Orochimaru…Kabuto…" she whispered.

Itachi heard this and walked into the diner. Yuka helped her younger sister stand and led her to the car that they came in. She helped her in and closed the door. Itachi came back out shaking his head. "They escaped."

"Damn. Alright, Itachi-kun, I'm going to take her home because I don't think she's stable enough to get through any classes. I want you to tell Kakashi and ask him to get her homework from her teachers."

He nodded and climbed onto the bike. Yuka climbed into the driver's seat of the car and turned it on. Sakura hugged the bag to her closely and cried softly. As they drove, Yuka reached over and stroked her sister's hair. "It's alright, imooto. Everything will be okay."

* * *

Back at the school, students were walking back to their classes. Itachi parked the bike and casually walked back into the school. He grabbed his books from his locker and headed to his class. Kakashi was sitting at his desk reading a Make-Out Paradise book. "Will you ever stop reading those disgusting books?"

"What do you want Itachi?"

"Yuka took Sakura back to the mansion because she encountered Oro and Kabuto while she was out. We didn't think she was stable enough to get through any classes."

He sighed and closed his book, throwing it in one of the drawers of his desk. "I'll get the homework from her teachers. Oh, and Sasuke left during lunch."

Itachi shook his head and went to his seat.

* * *

At the mansion, Yuka had gotten Sakura into her bed and had calmed her down enough for her to speak in intelligent sentences. Kaji sat next to the bed watching her master with keen eyes. She barked.

"Kaji, don't bark. Sakura's not feeling good. Oro got at her."

Kaji began to growl and stood on all fours, the fur standing up.

"Kaji, yameru," Sakura whispered. "I'm alright."

"Imooto, listen, I have to go back to school, okay? School will be over in about three hours. Kaji will watch over you. If there are any problems contact one of us. There's a phone in your nightstand with all of our numbers programmed in it."

Sakura nodded.

Yuka kissed her forehead. "Don't worry, time will fly by." She turned disappeared in a flash. Sakura had just closed her eyes and was about to fall asleep, when she felt the bed sink. Her eyes popped open and connected with onyx colored eyes. She screamed and backed up.

"Are you always this jumpy?"

She took a deep breath. "Dammit, Sasuke, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at school?"

"Hn."

Her eyes narrowed. "Why are you here? I hate you, remember?"

"I do, but you haven't realized something."

"What?"

"Since you're still human, you're still prone to get attacked by other vampires and Oro. And because of that, you need a guardian."

"And your point is what?"

"My point is that I am guardian."


	6. Chapter 6: Break Up

It'd been two weeks after Sakura had found out about Sasuke being her guardian, she tried to avoid as much as possible. But right when she thought she had avoided for the time being, he'd appear out of nowhere. She begged Yuka to help her out with the problem, but she told her younger sister that she couldn't interfere because it was the vampire counsel's choice.

"Vampire counsel?"

"Obviously, no one's told you about the vampire counsel."

She shook her head. They were standing in the lunch line, waiting to get some food. Sakura's stomach growled softly. Yuka giggled as Sakura blushed beet red. That's when Sasuke walked into the lunch room with Karin and another man tailing him. "Who's that?"

"That's Suigetsu. For your sake you'd better stay away from him. He's bad news and just play it cool if he starts hitting on you."

"Is he a vampire?"

"Sort of. He's like Naruto, having the fox demon inside of him. Suigetsu is mixed with a shark demon. That explains why all his teeth are pointed. Anyway, the vampire counsel is a group of vampire, obviously, that are like the leaders of the vampire race and mostly deal with sending out guardians to people, mostly humans. So, because you're living in a house full of vampires and go to a school with vampires, you'd need a guardian to keep you safe and out of trouble with any other vampires. Needless to say, they weren't too happy when they received word about you encountering Orochimaru back at the diner."

Itachi came up to them and gave Yuka a kiss on the cheek. "Hello, Yuka dear. Is everything alright over here?"

"Everything's peachy. I was just telling Sakura about the vampire counsel."

"Vicious group of vampires," he mumbled. She swatted his arm and looked at Sakura. "Just ignore what he says about them. He just hates the people."

"Of course I do. Do you know that they blamed me for what happened to my family, me and Sasuke? I didn't even get home until after the attack on my family. They said that I organized the attack. Why the hell would I attack my family?"

Yuka took his hand in hers. "Just relax, Itachi-kun. They know who it is now, so there's no reason to be upset anymore."

He sighed. "I just really despise those people."

Sakura gave a sigh and said, "I think I left one of my books in my locker. I'm going to grab it really quickly." Truthfully, it was just because it bothered her to watch her sister be loved by another and love them back when the person she liked didn't even pay attention to her.

"Do you want us to wait for you?"

"No, that's alright. Go ahead and start eating without me." She jogged to her locker and fumbled with her lock a couple of times before finally getting it open. Just she went to reach for the book someone's hand slammed her locker shut. She looked up to yell at the person, but then decided to keep quiet. It was Suigetsu. "Well, hello beautiful. I thought you'd be getting lunch."

_**Suigetsu is giving off a creepy vibe. Stay cautious, **Sakura's inner warned._

"Well, I was but I needed to get one of my books to study for my test next period."

He licked his lips, staring her up and down, leaning in close to her face. "I like a girl with brains and a smokin' body. How about you and I find a private place and I'll give you something to eat."

She gagged and pushed him away. "You're disgusting." She was about to open her locker, but his hand slammed against it, scaring her.

"Apparently no one's told you about me and my requests."

"I wasn't aware that it was a request. Besides, I'm just not into you."

He growled, grabbing her by the arm. "You're coming with me, pinky. I will have you either way."

"Hey, Suigetsu, leave her alone."

Both looked and saw Shikamaru and Sai walking towards them. Sakura took this as her chance to escape. While he was distracted, she whipped out her kunai and sliced the hand that gripped her arm. He hissed and let go of her, but went to grab her by the neck. She ducked and kicked him in the chin. He stumbled backwards into the wall. Wiping the blood from his mouth, he glared at her. "I don't know why I bothered. You're just a stupid little girl." He stormed back into the cafeteria.

She sighed and put her weapon away. Shikamaru came up to her and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I still don't see why Sasuke has to be my guardian when I can obviously handle myself."

"It's because of Orochimaru. If he didn't bother you, you actually wouldn't be here right now," Sai said.

"This whole situation is troublesome."

"Speaking of this situation, I haven't seen Sasuke or Naruto go back to the police station since that day. How come?" she asked, looking at Shikamaru since she still couldn't stand Sai and his nickname for her.

"It had to do with the vampire counsel. If someone they think needs protecting, especially from Orochimaru and Kabuto, they'll assign a vampire or two to go after them. This time it was as policemen. I think the only reason they chose us to house you is either because your sister is here or because they wanted Sasuke to be your guardian."

"Weird." She grabbed her book out of her locker and followed Sai and Shikamaru back to the lunchroom. As they entered, they spotted Yuka and Itachi sitting at a table with the rest of the people in their group. Sakura sat down between Yuka and Sasuke, setting her book in her lap. Suigetsu was no where in sight.

"Imooto, are you alright? You look a bit shaken up."

She sighed. "You've always been too observant, nee-san. When I was at my locker Suigetsu dropped by, trying to get to follow him somewhere private."

Yuka scoffed. "He's a fucking pig, if he bothers you anymore, just give the signal and I'll come save you. You do remember what our signal is right?"

"Of course."

"What is your signal?" Naruto asked.

"It was something Auntie Tsunade taught us. You could probably do it Naruto with the fox demon inside of you. But don't get your hopes up."

"Hey where'd Sasuke go?" Ino asked as she hung to Sai's arm.

They looked around the lunchroom, but couldn't spot him. Itachi stood. "I'll go find him."

"Be careful," Yuka called after his retreating back. She looked at her sister. "Sakura, you're not going to eat anything?"

"After what happened with Suigetsu, I'm really not hungry. I've actually really lost my appetite."

* * *

After lunch was over, everyone headed to their classes. Yuka, Sakura, Itachi, and Sasuke had art together. But, neither of the girls had seen Itachi or Sasuke since lunch, which was worrying both of them. Their teacher, Kurenai, told them to paint whatever they felt and that it had to be done by the end of the period. Half way through the class, Itachi and Sasuke walked in, Sasuke looking absolutely pissed. He sat next to Sakura while Itachi sat on the other side of Yuka.

"Where were you two?" Yuka hissed.

"Tsunade's office."

"What did you two do?"

"Nothing, but Suigetsu won't be bothering people for a while."

Both girls shook their heads. "You two are terrible." They continued to paint, the three vampires using their vampire speed when no one was looking. Sakura envied them but kept her thoughts to herself, continuing to go at her usual human pace.

At the end of the period, Sakura had painted a field of sakura trees with a mountain range in the background. Yuka whistled softly. "That's one masterpiece. I'd almost forgotten that you were a very good painter."

She sighed. "Yes, but mom and dad would've never been satisfied with this painting."

"Well, that doesn't matter anymore because their not here. Listen, imooto, don't dwell on the past anymore because they're gone and you have a new life now. You don't have to worry about being Cinderella anymore. You can be who you want to be and no one's going to get angry at you for that."

They handed their paintings in and headed down the hall towards their homerooms. "I know but, I've lived like this for so long that it's kind ingrained in my mind that everything I do won't ever satisfy anyone because it never has."

"That's not true. I'm sure everything will be fine."

She sighed, knowing her sister wouldn't let it go. "Maybe you're right, Yuka. I'll try my hardest to break the habit."

"That's my sister. I'll see you after school." She grabbed Itachi's hand and dragged them to class. Sasuke walked beside her towards Kakashi's class. There weren't going to many people in that class. They entered to find that their teacher wasn't in the classroom though it didn't surprise them. He was never on time for any of his classes since he seemed to disappear somewhere between periods. So, they took their seats; Sakura sitting next to TenTen and Hinata, and Sasuke sitting between Karin and Naruto.

"I just don't understand it," TenTen said, her head laying in the palm of her hand.

"What?"

She leaned in close to her. "That Sasuke finds Karin more interesting then you."

Sakura blushed deep red, her eyes shifting slowly to see Sasuke staring at her. She squeaked and looked away, keeping her head turned away from his view. Hinata giggled softly. "Don't worry, Sakura-chan, I blush all the time around Naruto-kun."

"But you and Naruto are different so that doesn't count."

"Besides, you blush a lot anyway, Hinata-chan."

To prove her point, Hinata began to blush. The three girls giggled. Sakura took out a notebook and began to doodle meaningless drawings in it. Someone's hand slammed down on her paper, causing her to jump. She looked up to see Karin sneering down at her before sitting next to her. "What's up, pinky?"

"Karin, I haven't done anything," she said, looking back down.

"Oh, but you did. But I'll let you slide this time. But for future references, let's set some ground rules. I know that you're living with Sasuke and the other guys, but I don't want you anywhere near him. I don't want you to look at him or even think about him. Understand?"

She didn't answer, just stared at her. Karin frowned and just nodded. "I do hope we understand each other, pinky. I would hate for your face to get any uglier than it already is."

She shot to her feet, towering over the red head. She leaned in close to her ear, noticing the slight tremble in her figure. "Trust me, Karin. I wouldn't worry about me getting any uglier. You should be worrying about your life and you need to butt out of mine."

Karin stood and both had a glaring contest. They heard the classroom door open but neither paid attention to it.

"Karin, Sakura, would you please take your seats?"

Karin looked away first. "Yes, Kakashi-sensei." She stormed back to her seat and plopped down in the seat. Sakura calmly sat down while Kakashi took role. TenTen leaned over and whispered to Sakura so softly, "I think Sasuke and Karin are having an argument."

As Sakura looked over, sure enough they were whispering harshly to each other. Sasuke was scowling more than usual while Karin berated him for something. Naruto just tried to keep out of the argument as much as possible. Kakashi shot them a look before starting his lesson, which was just to take some notes out of their text book. Everyone groaned.

"Stop complaining and just get the work done. I want it done by the end of the period. It's not much so is shouldn't take too long if you keep your mouths shut and do your work." He sat down behind his desk, propped his feet up, and pulled out his Make-Out Paradise book.

Sakura looked over and saw TenTen and Hinata using their vampire speed to write things down. She looked around quickly to find that no one was paying attention to them. They didn't even have their books open and were getting all the right answers.

"Guys, how do you know all the answers?" she barely whispered, knowing that they'd hear her.

"We've looked the way are looking now and because of that, we've had to blend in with the humans by going to school. The curriculum hasn't changed over the years. So, it's pretty much old stuff. Besides, we have photographic memory."

She looked back at her book and decided just to do it the old fashioned way. The period ended quickly as she finished her class work. She handed it in and headed outside to where her bike was waiting for her in the parking lot.

"Haruno!"

Looking back, she barely dodged the punch that was directed towards her face. Karin stood there fuming red in the face. "You took him away from me!"

"Who?"

"Sasuke, who else? How dare you!"

"Karin, I assure you, I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about."

Karin swung at her again, but someone caught her fist. Both women gasped his name. He stepped in front of Sakura, glaring icicles at Karin. "Listen, you have no right to take your anger out on her. So, leave her alone, understand?"

"That's not fair. You belong to me and only me. We're destined to be together. You can't let her get in between us."

"Karin, there was nothing between us. Now leave, before I make you leave."

She yanked her fist out of his palm and stormed away towards her car before speeding off, fuming.

"Sasuke?"

He looked over his shoulder at her, noticing her deep red blush that was sprinkled across her cheeks.

"You didn't have to do that. I mean, I thank you for helping me. But you didn't have to break up with her. I know you're my guardian and all, but you shouldn't let that get in the way of–"

He pressed a finger against her lips, smirking. "You talk too much. Besides, she was annoying from the start anyway. I never got moments peace when she was around. Just keep an eye out for her and stay away from her. This isn't the first time she's accused someone of taking me away from her."

"I assume this isn't the first time you've broken up with her?"

"Third time. She won't leave me alone."

"I'm sorry. I wish I could help, but she'd probably end up killing me in the end." She slipped her helmet on over her head and swung her leg over the bike, kicking the kickstand up. "I'll see you at home."

Revving up the motorcycle, she sped away from the school, flashing her lacy red thong at him. He frowned and headed to his car.

* * *

sorry about taking so long to update. i wasn't sure what to write. next chapter soon. =P


	7. Chapter 7: Danger & Encounters

At the house, Sakura was the first one there, parking her motorcycle in the side garage and then heading inside, only to be tackled to the ground by Kaji. She laughed and petted her head. "Alright, Kaji, I'll feed you in a minute." She stood and ran upstairs to put her school stuff down. Going back downstairs, she went into the kitchen and poured some of the dog food in the bowl that she had gotten for her. Kaji dove into the food, scarfing it down. Sakura hopped onto the counter top and watched her dog eat its food. Just then, the house phone rang.

"Hello?"

No answer.

"Hello? Who is this?"

Still no answer. She began to get scared.

"I don't know who this is, but it's not funny." Her voice came out more like a squeak, than the strong voice that she wanted. She clicked the phone off and hung it back on the receiver, but then it started ringing again. She hesitantly answered. "Who is this?" But no voice answered back. "Stop doing this!" She slammed it back on the receiver. Kaji looked up from her bowl and barked, the phone ringing again. Sakura slowly started to back up, too scared to answer it again. When it stopped ringing, her cell phone began to ring. She fumbled around and answered, screaming into the phone, "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Sakura, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

It was Sasuke. Tears cascaded down her cheeks as she slid to the floor, her body trembling. Kaji sat next to her, nudging her with her nose and gave a soft whine.

"Sakura? Sakura, answer me."

But her only answer was her gasping sobs. The phone slipped out of her hand and snapped shut. Sasuke cursed as he saw that the line had disconnected. He stepped on the gas and called Kakashi.

"Hello?"

"Kakashi, I'm headed home. I tried to call Sakura to see if she wanted anything to eat, but when she picked up, she sounded scared. I'm going to make sure that she's okay."

"Alright. Let me know about what happened when you reached there. Make sure that she hasn't been attacked by Orochimaru."

"I will." He hung up and sped towards the house.

Sakura buried her face in her hands, crying with Kaji sitting next to her and licking her cheek occasionally, while the house phone continued to ring. She heard a car pull into the driveway and the car door slam shut. Next thing she knew, someone laid a hand on her shoulder. She jerked away from them and looked up with wide eyes. "Sakura, are you alright?"

She threw herself in his arms and cried in his shoulder. "It was so scary. I'm so sorry."

"Tell me what happened."

"The phone kept ringing and no one was answering on the other line. I got scared. Even after you hung up, the phone kept ringing. I didn't answer because I was afraid."

"Don't worry. Every thing's okay," he soothed, rubbing her back gently. Kaji nudged his hand and whined softly. He reached out and petted her nose. "Don't worry, she's okay." They stayed like that, her wrapped in his arms until she fell asleep. By the time he realized that, the others had just arrived home. Yuka burst through the front door and ran into the kitchen, kneeling next to them. "Is she okay? Please tell me she isn't harmed. You never called Kakashi back to tell him what happened."

"Whatever. When I got here, she was on the floor, crying. She told me that someone kept calling the house phone but no one answered on the other side of the line. She began to get freaked out when it kept ringing non-stop. But when I called her, she screamed at me to leave her alone. When she realized it was me, she must've dropped the phone or something. The line had gone dead."

Shikamaru walked towards the house phone, picking it up. "There's no dial tone. Someone must've cut the line after she hung up with you. We have to search the area for any unknown scents."

Kaji barked frantically from atop the stairs. They followed her into Sakura's room where they found an envelope on her nightstand, her name scrawled in neat calligraphy. Kakashi opened the letter and read over it quickly, then handed it to Yuka. "I think you may know who this is."

She snatched it from him and scanned over it. When she read who it was from, it slipped from her hand, flitting to the ground. Everyone watched her, waiting for her to say something. She watched as Sasuke brought Sakura up into the room and laid her on the bed. She kneeled next to the bed and brushed her sister's hair away from her face. "The person who left this letter is out to hurt both Sakura and me. We can't let him get near her. He was probably the one on the line. Someone needs to be near her at all times, especially since he knows who she'll be around."

"Do you think he's with Orochimaru?"

"I don't know. I hope he isn't. Sakura doesn't know him because he left before she was born. I know he's a vampire because I think...I think he's the one that may've attacked me and my friends and changed me. I can't be sure because he left before I could get a good look at him."

"You think he's after your sister?" Neji asked.

"He could be. That's the only other reason that I can think of."

"Then, we'll have to keep a closer eye on her until we know for sure what his intentions are," Kakashi declared.

Yuka looked at all of them. "For now, until we're sure of his plan, please don't mention any of this to her. I know she's already having a hard time as it is trying to get used to everything and not worrying about everyone not satisfied with her work. But I don't want her to be even more worried than she is now. So, please, just don't say anything."

"Don't worry, Yuka-chan," Naruto said, pounding his fist against his heart, "We'll protect Sakura-chan."

She smiled and whispered a small thank you to them.

* * *

The next morning – Saturday – Sakura awoke with a pounding skull. She winced softly as she sat up and looked around. She didn't know how she ended up in her room. All she remembered was Sasuke calming her down and then passing out. The sun was peeking through her closed her curtain, trying to illuminate the room.

While she sat in a daze, she realized that the house was relatively quiet. Not even Kaji was in the room. She threw the covers and treaded downstairs into the kitchen, finding no one in there and Kaji's food bowl was empty. Normally, Naruto would be complaining to Kakashi about how horrible the breakfast was. There was no one in the living room and Yuka and Itachi would be cuddling on the couch while Sai would sit in the armrest chair and sketched in his sketch book, Shikamaru laying near the roaring fireplace, and Neji with his nose shoved into a book he was reading for school or just for his entertainment. But there was none of that.

A small, chilly breeze flew in from the window, raising goosebumps on her skin. She shut the window and then remembered that it was getting close to Thanksgiving. But that also meant that it was getting close to Christmas. She gasped. "I still don't know what to get everyone. I have to go out and figure out what's best for everyone."

Just as she ascended the stairs, she stopped. "But what do you get for a whole family of vampires? Anything that I could think of would seem like nothing to them." She plopped down on one of the steps. She thought about painting them each a picture that would mean something, but thought better of it, knowing that they probably wouldn't accept it and knowing Sai, he'd probably ridicule it or find something wrong with it.

She could get them gift cards, but that would just show that she really didn't know what to get them. She sighed. Finding something nice for more than ten people was proving to more difficult than she thought.

"I see you're awake."

She closed her eyes and hoped that the voice she was hearing was just her imagination. She peeked behind her and saw Sasuke leaning against the railing, smirking down at her. "Did you expect me to be dead or something?"

He frowned. "I thought you'd sleep a little longer."

"Well, I didn't and you interrupted my concentration. Thanks."

He walked down the stairs and sat next to her. "What's up with you?"

She sighed. "It's nothing. Just rambling to myself in my head. Where is everyone?"

"They went out to start their Christmas shopping."

She groaned and buried her face in her hands.

"Is that what you've been rambling to yourself about? You need to get gifts for everyone, don't you?"

"No I don't." He gave her a look. She shrunk back. "Ok, so maybe I do. So what?"

"You know, I have to do some Christmas shopping myself. Would you like to go to the mall to see if they have anything you're looking for?"

She sighed. "You were going to drag me anyway, even if I said no, right?"

He smirked and stood. "You should get some breakfast before we leave."

"I don't plan on sticking by your side just because you're my guardian. I can handle myself, thank you," she huffed.

"Yeah, you handled yourself nicely yesterday with those mysterious calls," he muttered to himself. He hadn't realized that he had said that out loud until he felt something hit the back of his head. He looked back and saw her at the foot of the stairs, holding the other shoe to the one that had bounced off the back of his head.

"You're so cruel. I don't see how people put up with you and your arrogance and ignorance."

He was in front of her faster than she could blink. "I don't see how anyone could like you and your annoying personality. I think your sister just protects you out of sympathy instead of really wanting to protect you, seeing as you can't protect yourself."

"If you're implying that I'm stupid and weak, why don't you go ahead and change me into a vampire and then you wouldn't have to worry about having to protect me 24/7." She pushed the sleeve of her nightgown off her shoulder and tilted her head to the side, her milky white skin revealed to him.

His body froze. His hands shakily reached out and hugged her to him, burying his face in her neck, listening to her blood call to him. His fangs elongated and he opened his mouth, just about to pierce her skin. She closed her eyes, leaning into him, ready for him to bite her. Suddenly, she found herself pressed against the wall, one of his hands beside her head while the other gripped her hip. He had his head bowed, breathing heavily. She hesitantly reached up and touched his arm. He was shaking.

"S-Sasuke?"

"Dammit, Sakura. Don't do that ever again, unless you plan on dying, and if your sister agrees to let you get changed, don't let me do it. I could've killed you just now."

She slowly moved her hand towards his face, letting him understand that he could stop her. When she touched his cheek, he let go of the breath he was holding and unconsciously leaned into her touch. He collapsed against her, his head laying in the crook of her neck, his arms wrapped around her waist, eyes closed. He breathed in her scent as she wrapped her arms around his neck, laying her head on top of his.

They stayed like that for a couple of minutes before she realized that he hadn't moved or said a word. She looked down at him to find his lips parted slightly and his breathing even. He either passed out or fell asleep. She gently slipped his arms from around her waist and got behind him, her arms under his. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to carry him up the stairs, she dragged him to the living room, laying him on the couch.

She sighed heavily and decided to go ahead and take a quick shower, get changed, and eat breakfast. Hopefully by then, he may've woken up.

* * *

When Sasuke awoke, he was laying on the couch, a stiff back, and Sakura sitting in the chair next to him reading a book, her cheeks sprinkled red. He rubbed his eyes and laid back down. "Something you find embarrassing?"

She squeaked and looked at him, setting her book on the armrest. "Are you okay?"

"Hn. I'm fine."

"Well, you don't have to be so grumpy about it."

"Have I told you how much I hate laying on this couch?"

"Have I told you that I'm just a weak human that can't carry an Undead being up the stairs into his room?"

"Whatever." He stood and nearly fell over. She caught him quickly as he gripped her arm tightly, his hand shaking. She grew worried and laid him back down on the couch.

"Do you need anything?" He covered his eyes and nodded. "What?"

"I need to go hunting, but I'm too weak to do that." He tried to sit up again, but she pushed him back down and then unbuttoned her shirt a little, slipping the sleeve off her shoulder.

"Drink some."

He gripped her sides tightly and pulled her to lay on top of him, skimming his fangs across her skin. "Sakura, I can't. If I do, I might drink too much and kill you. I couldn't do that to you."

"But I trust you."

"You shouldn't trust me."

"And why not?"

"Because I'm a vampire and you're a human. You're supposed to be my meal. I'm supposed to drink your blood until there's nothing left of you. But…if I do that…"

She sat up. "I don't care about that. I trust you, Sasuke. Maybe more than I should, but I do trust you. I don't want you to get hurt in any way so, take some of my blood."

He stared up at her in amazement. How he was blessed with the fact that he could guard such a kind woman was beyond him. He pulled her down and pressed his fangs against the junction where her neck and shoulder met. She let out a strangled moan when he sunk his fangs into her flesh and he started melting into the taste of her blood. He pressed her tighter against him and drank more.

"Sas…Sasuke…stop…" But what she fell on deaf ears. "Sasuke! STOP!" she screamed. His eyes shot open and he ripped himself away from her neck, pushing her off him. He stared down at her in horror as she stared back. She looked away, and slid her shirt back on her shoulder, buttoning it back up. As she stood, her legs became wobbly and she toppled over, crashing into his chest. His arms wrapped around her waist instantly.

"Are…you alright?"

"I'm fine…just a little dizzy, that's all." She steadied herself on her feet and said, "Maybe we should go ahead and head to the mall."

"You still want to be around me, even though I nearly killed you?"

"It's alright with me. I just need to drink some water and I'll be okay." She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the front door, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge. "Let's go."

* * *

"Are you done yet?"

"No, I'm not. Just give me a couple more minutes," she muttered. She had her knees pulled her knees pulled to her chest and had a notepad balanced on her knees. She had finally decided that she would paint pictures for everyone, deciding that it was easier instead of going around trying to find some kind of object. She had made a list of people she need to paint pictures for, using their initials only.

_N.U. – Nine-Tailed Fox__  
S.N. – Clouds__  
N.H. – Books__  
S.U. –  
I.U. – Red clouds on a black base  
K.H. – Make-Out Paradise cover  
S. – Artist Utensils_

_ I.Y. – Bouquets of flowers  
H.H. – Medicinal Herbs  
T.T. – Weapons  
T.S. – Giant fan w/ three purple dots on blade  
Y.H. – Baskets of different fruits  
T. – Bottles of sake_

"Hey, you skipped my name."

"I know. I did that for a reason. Why would I write what I want to paint you when you're sitting right across from me?"

"Hn. Whatever."

"Is that all you ever say when you know that you've been caught off guard or do you do that when you just feel the need to be annoying?"

He stood. "Can we just get the things you need and go?"

She stood up next to him. "Well fine, be that way. If you didn't want to be here why'd you suggest it in the first place? Didn't you say that you had Christmas shopping to do as well?"

"Hn."

"You and your one word vocabulary," she muttered.

"I can hear you."

"I hate you." She headed towards the art store and bought thirteen oil canvases and a crate of paint colors. Sasuke had left only once during her browsing to go and buy something for someone. In the back of her mind, she thought it was for Karin, but pushed that thought away quickly, knowing how much he hated her. When she was done with her shopping, she found him leaning against the wall outside the store.

"Are you finished?"

"Yeah, Mr. Grumpy. We can go now since you're so anxious to get home. I almost wonder why. Do you have a girlfriend waiting for you at home?"

He just glared at her and took her bags, walking towards the parking lot. "Let's go."

"Wait a minute."

He turned around to see her running in the opposite direction. "Sakura!" But she didn't hear him. He cursed and went into the art store, asking if the woman could keep the purchased items behind the counter for five minutes.

Sakura ran towards the pet store, buying a couple of play toys for Kaji for Christmas. As she ran out - not looking where she was going - she collided with someone else, knocking the both of them to the ground. She rubbed her hip. "I'm so sorry. I was in a rush and should've watched where I was going."

"Don't worry. It was my fault."

She looked up and forest green collided with emerald. She stared up with an open mouth at the man. He had shoulder-length brown hair and dark green eyes, ones that almost reminded her of her eyes and her sister's. He held out his hand and she took it as he pulled her to her feet, handing her stuff back to her. "Here you go."

"Thank you. Please forgive me for being so careless." She bowed at the waist.

He chuckled deep in his chest. "You are a peculiar one." He swept a finger under her chin and lifted it so that she looked at him. "There's no need to apologize. I wasn't looking where I was going."

The way his voice sent pleasurable chills down her spine made her knees wobble slightly. She could only nod like an idiot.

"Sakura!"

She spun around and saw Sasuke walked swiftly towards her. "Yes?"

"Why'd you run off?"

"Because I needed to buy something for Kaji. Why?"

"Just don't run off like that again." He looked at the man, glaring at him. This was the guy that Yuka was talking about. He took Sakura gently by the arm and dragged her away from the man.

"Sasuke, what are you doing?"

"Kakashi called and asked us to come home. I can't let you go wandering around the place by yourself."

"Well, why don't you have Yuka or someone else come and watch over me?"

"Because we're all going to be training today, including your sister and Kakashi. Why? Did I interrupt something?"

She glared up at him. "No, of course not. I just was in a rush to get back to you and ran into him. Is that a problem?"

"I just didn't feel comfortable with you around him. He's not a good person to be around."

"How would you know? Do you know him?"

"No, but because of what I am, I can sense when someone could be a threat or not. He could've been a threat to you and because I'm your guardian, I have to protect you from threats like him."

"Are you getting paranoid or something? I mean, he was only handing me my stuff that I dropped. Sasuke, is everything alright?"

He stopped and let go of her arm. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Everything's rushing around right now and I just want everything to calm down."

She reached up and pulled his hand away from his face. "Sasuke, maybe after you're done training, you can go back to your room and take a nap or something. Just relax somehow."

He sighed. "I wish I could, but being what I am isn't always easy. Let's just go ahead and head home." He handed her this keys. "I'm going to get your stuff. They're back in the art store."

She gave small smile. "Thank you for going to get them, Sasuke." She gave his hand a small squeeze before running back towards the parking lot. As she ran, she began to realize that she was possibly falling in love with Sasuke Uchiha.


	8. Chapter 8: Battles

She sat on the back porch, under the shade, painting the pictures for everyone, starting with the one for her sister. She had first sketched the pictures she wanted in the sketch book she had bought. While she did all of this, the vampires were training with each other, or more of battling with each other and their weapons. Kaji laid by her feet, watching the others. Sakura leaned down and patted her head, scratching a spot behind her ear.

When she and Sasuke had returned home, everyone was interested in what they had bought. Sasuke just dumped the stuff near the staircase, saying that it was just some art supplies for her. He then asked if he could talk to Yuka privately. Kakashi must've read his mind because he shot a look to Itachi. It obviously said a lot, because he visibly relaxed. That's when she noticed that Sai was rummaging through her stuff. She went up to him and kicked his side. "Stop snooping around in my stuff, Sai. I could have something personal in there." He just shot her one of his fake smiles and walked out to the backyard.

The doorbell rang and she set her things down to go get it, but Yuka was already in front of her. "You, stay here." And then she was gone. She looked towards Itachi who looked somewhat angered.

"Would you mind explaining to me why everyone feels the need to have someone with me no matter where I go? It wasn't like this before. What's going on?"

"It's nothing really, just some news that we got and we just have to keep an eye out, especially since it's a vampire."

She eyed him warily, knowing that it was more than just that. They all heard Yuka scream in frustration. Everyone ran towards the front of the house. By now, Kaji was barking frantically. She petted her head and told her to follow her, putting all her utensils together. She took the back stairway up to the second floor, heading into her sister's room. She remembered overhearing her sister talk about some kind of letter that was obviously bothering them all. She went to her sister's side of the bed and peeked into the drawers of the nightstand, instantly finding a letter with her name written neatly on it.

Kaji barked at her and realized that someone might be coming this way. She shut the drawer shut and ran out of the room towards her room, slamming the door shut and locking it. She heaved a sigh and held her hand out to Kaji as she licked it. "Good girl. Thank you for warning me."

She took a deep breath and slowly opened the envelope, pulling out the folded up piece of paper. With bated breath, she slowly unfolded it as she dropped the envelope. Her eyes began to scan the letter.

**_ Dear Sakura,_**

Itachi and Neji dragged a screaming Yuka back into the backyard. Sasuke, Kakashi, Sai, and Naruto growled loudly at the three men standing across from them. The brunette man smirking at Sasuke. He'd seen him at the mall, talking to Sakura.

**_ I apologize deeply for the phone calls and not answering back. It was very wrong of me. Please forgive me for my actions. But things shall get far worse. Let me tell you.  
_**

Shikamaru sat in the living room, thinking of a strategy for the situation. "This is troublesome," he mumbled. rubbing his temples. Itachi was still trying to keep Yuka from running back outside and ripping everyone to shreds. Shikamaru knew who they were here for, but for now he had to depend on Kaji protecting her. Everyone was too occupied right now to go and protect her themselves.

**_ The reason for this letter is to let you know that from now on, you'll never be safe wherever you go. Go ahead and show this letter to your little vampire guardians, but they won't be able to stop us from killing you or your mongrel._**

The brunette man did a couple of hand signs and soon a think hazy fog began to surround them.

"Don't inhale, it's a sleeping gas," Kakashi warned. "Shikamaru, watch over Sakura, now!"

Shikamaru ran up the stairs towards Sakura's room and grabbed the handle, only to find it locked. He banged on the door. "Sakura, open the door! Sakura!" But she wasn't listening.

**_ Soon, very soon, you and I will meet face to face, but you won't know it's me because you have no idea what I look like. I'm looking forward to the day that I'll see your cute face again. Until we meet again,_**

- **_Ichino_**

"Sakura, open the door this instant!" Shikamaru yelled. Slowly it opened and he found Sakura just standing there, a far off look on her face. "What's wrong?" He noticed a piece of paper gripped in her hand. He gently took it from her, scanning it. "Where did you find this?"

She looked up at him, unshed tears in her eyes. "Nee-san's room," she whispered so softly. "Why did you guys keep it from me? I should've known about this."

"It was Yuka's request that we keep it from you. We didn't want you to get anymore worried than you were already with Orochimaru after you. I'm sorry."

There was a crash heard from downstairs and Shikamaru pushed her into the closet, pushing Kaji in there as well. "Whatever you hear, don't come out until one of us comes to get you. Do you understand?"

She nodded and watched he closed the door, darkness engulfing her and Kaji. She slid to the floor and wrapped her arms around Kaji. "Whatever you hear, Kaji-chan, don't make a sound. Okay?" She nudged her master's cheek with her nose.

* * *

Yuka let a snarl of anger rip through her as she stood across from him, her neon green eyes now darker than ever as she glared at the man standing across from her. "I never should've trusted you when we were younger."

"Too bad the parents loved me too."

"You aren't a part of that family anymore and neither am I. They were killed by your so called master."

"That's a good thing. I must say that I hated them very much. Only that pervert of an uncle and loud mouth of an aunt ever really seemed like real parents to me."

"Same here. But we're not here to discuss our family, Ichino. You're here to kill Sakura and Kaji."

"How perceptive of you; Tell me, did she show you the letter or, did you keep it from her?"

She growled and lunged at him, her claws piercing through his stomach as she swiped at him. He jumped away from her and did some hand signs, bringing more of the hazy fog around them. She held her breath and kept her senses on alert as she looked around. Her arm went up reflexively to block the kick that was aimed at her face. He growled and got down on all fours, knocking her feet from under her. Just as he was about to kick her into the ground, he felt his muscles tense up and refuse to work. "What…What is…this?"

Shikamaru stood behind him, his hands forming a hand sign as a long black shadow touched both of their feet. "You won't be harming anyone. Come on, let's go for a little walk."

Yuka steadily got to her feet and looked at him. "Shika?"

"She knows, Yuka. She's not happy about it either. Find where she is in the house and keep guard of her. I think the others can handle Oro and Kabuto."

She nodded and ran inside. Ichino growled at him. "Let go of me this instant!"

"Come; let's go for that walk, shall we?" He ran towards the forest that surrounded their mansion, the fog beginning to disappear from around the house.

As the others fought against Orochimaru and Kabuto, they all began to notice the fog begin to dissipate. Orochimaru cursed loudly and yelled at Kabuto to retreat. Sasuke and Itachi ran after them, swinging their sword at them with their swords. There were two shrill screams from inside just as the Orochimaru and Kabuto disappeared in a puff of smoke; shadow clones.

"Yuka!"

"Sakura!"

They ran upstairs into Sakura's room, kicking the door down. Kabuto had a dagger pressed against Yuka's neck, his hand covering her mouth while Orochimaru had his hand covering Sakura's mouth, his mouth near her neck, his fangs gleaming and coated with his venom. Kaji lay unconscious by the closet doors.

"It seems you're just a bit too late," Orochimaru sneered.

"Let them go," Sasuke retorted, his grip on his katana tightening.

"Hm, I don't think so. I actually plan on having my wicked way with my cute little cherry blossom here." He moved his other hand to the buttons of her shirt, popping them open and sliding a claw down deep into her skin between her breasts, leaving a bloody trail in its wake. She whimpered behind his hand, squirming beneath him, sending pleading looks to Sasuke.

He cursed softly, not being able to think of anything to help her without getting her even more harmed. That's when he noticed one of her hands gripping a kunai. He looked at her eyes, still finding fear, but under it lay anger. He smirked at her and relaxed. "Go ahead. I won't stop you."

Yuka screamed behind Kabuto's hand and Itachi looked at him like he was a fool. "What?! Are you insane?"

Sakura flipped the weapon in her hand and jabbed it back into Orochimaru's torso. He let out a guttural cry and she punched him in the face. Since Kabuto was distracted by what was going on, about ready to go to his master's side, Yuka took the chance and grabbed him by the sides of his head and flipped him over her shoulder. Sakura ran up to Sasuke and he wrapped an arm around her waist, his katana poised in front of him. Itachi and Yuka took a defensive stance in front of them.

"Get Kaji and Sakura out of here," Yuka demanded, her fangs bared. Sasuke nodded and sheathed his sword, going to pick up Kaji. Sakura clutched onto the back of his shirt as he led them towards his room. He laid Kaji on the bed.

"Is she okay?" Sakura whispered.

"Her hearts still beating strongly. That's a good sign." He ran his finger over Kaji's body, feeling the bones. "I don't feel any broken bones, so she should be okay." He suddenly saw Sakura beginning to sway. He caught her in his arms as she looked up at him with unfocused eyes. Her vision was swimming this way and that, making it hard to concentrate.

"Sakura?"

"Everything's gone spinning. My head hurts."

He laid her on his bed and ripped her shirt open. She shrieked. "Sasuke, what are you doing?"

"I have no idea how to use bandages or anything and this is the only other way I know." He leaned down and flicked his tongue across the gash. She whimpered in pain. "Relax," he hummed against her skin. He began to lap at her skin, the wound slowly beginning to heal. Her chest heaved up and down, pleasurable sparks shooting down her spine. She hesitantly ran her fingers through his hair. He groaned and lapped at her skin quicker as she pulled his head closer to her breasts.

"Sas…Sasuke…" she whispered, her eyes tightly closed.

When the last of the wound was healed, he began trailing kisses up her neck and jaw until he reached her lips. Their lips brushed against each other, not quite kissing the other. That's when the dizziness came back full force. She pulled away and gripped her head, hoping to get the initial spinning to stop.

He bit wrist and pulled her into his lap. "Drink some of my blood. It'll help restore your energy." She shook her head and pushed his wrist away.

"No, take care of your wounds first. I'll be fine."

"Sakura, you have to. Drink some now, please."

She gently took his wrist in her hands and placed her mouth over the cut that was oozing blood. He sucked in a breath and forced himself to control his emotions before they went haywire. Slowly, she began to drink, his blood not having a coppery taste to it, but kinda sweet. She began to drink greedily as Sasuke tried to pry his arm out of her grip. "Sakura, stop!" he commanded. She gasped and let go of his arm, clutching to his shirt and licking her lips. He licked the wound closed on his arm and held her close.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," she mumbled over and over.

"Don't worry, it's all right. It's going to be all right." He began to lick the wounds that he could reach closed.

There was a loud noise from somewhere in the house and it shook the entire house as Sakura screamed, holding his shirt tighter. Kakashi ran into the room, slamming the door shut. "Sasuke, get Sakura and Kaji out of here. I have a weird feeling that this place might not stand much longer."

"What happened?"

"Ichino was able to escape from Shikamaru and set off an explosive. It was small, but we don't know what he could do next and I don't want these two in the house if it does collapse."

He nodded and told Sakura to climb on his back. As she did, he stood and picked Kaji up gently in his arms. He opened the window and jumped down to the ground, landing softly on his feet. He raced towards the garage and set her down on her feet. He laid Kaji in the back seat and told Sakura to get in the passenger seat and told her to stay down until he said everything was clear.

She crouched down and covered her head as Sasuke drove. He stepped on the gas and sped through the gates, not sure where the hell he was going. "Alright, it's okay to get up."

She sat in the seat and put her seatbelt on. "Where are we going?"

"I'm not sure. Is there anywhere in particular that you'll feel safe?"

"Tsunade-obaa-san's house. I can show you which way she lives."

"It's okay. I already know where it is." He took her hand in his. "Just take a nap. I'll wake you up when we get there, okay?"

She nodded and gripped his hand tighter in hers before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Sasuke pulled up to the driveway, shutting off the car once he was parked in front of the door. Sometime during the drive, Kaji had finally come to. He let her out of the car and she began to bark when she saw Sasuke gently lift Sakura out of the car. He kicked the door closed and told her to be quiet. Before they reached the front door, a man with long white hair pulled back into a ponytail opened the door. He stared at the three of them before turning his head and yelling, "Tsunade, there are some kids here!"

She appeared in less than a second and hit him over the head, shoving him out of the way. "Shut up, you idiot." She looked at Sasuke and then saw a limp girl with bubblegum pink hair cradled in his arms. She gasped. "Oh no, bring her inside and lay her on the couch."

He did as he was told, Kaji following behind diligently. As he laid her on the couch, Kaji sat next to her and licked her cheek. She groaned and patted her head. "Good girl. Not now." She turned her head and went back to sleep.

Tsunade came into the living room, laying her hand across her forehead. "Well, at least she doesn't have a fever or anything. Tell me why you guys are here."

"Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Ichino attacked the mansion some time ago while we were training. Ichino set off an explosion in the house and Kakashi said that it would be best if I get them out of the house because he wasn't sure if it would stand much longer if he set off another explosive."

"Wait, did you say…Ichino?"

"Do you know him?"

"Know him? Of course I do, it's just…he had…" She shook her head. "Never mind. Anyway, Ichino is Sakura and Yuka's older brother. He used to be kind and gentle. He always looked out for Yuka. But one day, he just disappeared. This happened before Sakura was born, so she doesn't know that they're related."

"When will she find out? According to Shikamaru, she already knows that he's after her."

"We'll tell her when she wakes up. She deserves to know."

A couple hours later, she woke up, Sasuke and Kaji still sitting next to her. "What's going on?"

"We're at Tsunade's house. How do you feel?"

She didn't answer, just cradled her head in her hands. "Like I've been run over by a semi."

He chuckled and handed her two aspirin and a glass of water. "Here."

Chugging the pills and the glass of water down, she laid back on the couch, petting Kaji on the head. She licked her hand. Tsunade came in, Jiraiya following behind. "Well, it's good to see that you're awake now."

Sakura smiled and stood, throwing her arms around the older woman. "It's good to see you, Aunt Tsunade." She then hugged Jiraiya around the waist and then looked up. "Are you behaving yourself, uncle?"

He laughed. "Please, like I need a brat like you to make sure that I'm behaving." He smiled softly and tousled her hair.

Tsunade placed her hands on her shoulders and sat her back down on the couch. Sakura looked confused as Sasuke stood and walked out of the room, Jiraiya taking his place while Tsunade sat beside her. "Sakura, we need to tell you something very important and I don't want you to get upset by it. So you have to listen very carefully."

"You aren't pregnant are you?"

"If she was pregnant, I wouldn't be here right now," Jiraiya commented. Tsunade shot her a dirty looked before looked back at her with kind eyes. "So, apparently someone named Ichino attacked you and the others back at the mansion, correct?" She nodded slowly. "Listen to me very carefully because what I'm about to tell will upset you. Ichino is your older brother as well as Yuka's."

Sakura sat there for a few minutes, her face blank as her mind tried to wrap around what she was just told. Sasuke stood in the kitchen, waiting for her to start screaming. A couple minutes later, he heard her start crying and screaming. He walked back into the living room, to find her with her arms wrapped around Kaji's neck. He crouched down next to her and touched her back and she threw herself in his arms. He brushed his lips against her forehead, stroking her hair. "It's okay; Shh."

"It's not okay. The brother I never knew about is trying to kill me."

"Sasuke, you should take her upstairs into a guest room so that she can calm down," Jiraiya suggested. He held onto Kaji's collar. "Stay here for now. She can't always depend on you."

He picked her up and carried her into a room, shutting the door gently. Laying on the bed next to her. She curled up n his arms, clutching his shirt in her hands while he held onto her, trying his hardest to calm her down with what little he knew about calming people down since it wasn't one of his strong points. They laid together, for hours, falling asleep after only ten minutes of staying in the guest room. When she woke up, her eyes still a little puffy from crying herself to sleep, she found Sasuke laying next to her, staring at the ceiling. She looked up as well, but found nothing interesting about it. "What are you looking at?"

"Are you okay?"

She nodded and cuddled closer into his arms. "Thank you for taking care of me."

He closed his eyes. "It's my job as a guardian to make sure your safe and alright."

She wasn't sure why his words made her heart clench. She knew that she had told herself that she might be in love with him, but it could be just a phase. But she just didn't get the warm fuzzy feeling that this was going to end so soon.

"Sakura?" His thumbs wiped away the tears on her cheeks. She pulled away from him, turning her back to him, and sobbed in her hands. His dead heart gave a slight twist before he laid a hand on her shoulder. "Sakura, talk to me."

"I'm so confused."

"About what?"

"About everything. I just found out that the brother I never knew is out to kill me and everyone else. I'm just starting to wrap my mind around the fact that not everything I do is going to be a failure. And, I don't know if I have any feelings for you or not. The vibes you send to me are so hard to understand that I don't know how to feel about you. I told myself that I loved you, but I don't know; I think it's just a phase. I'm so confused. What's even worse is that I know you don't like me and here I am confessing my feelings to you and you must probably thing I'm an idiot now for being so stupid not to realize you're not interested in me. I'm sorry."

He turned her towards him and pressed his lips against hers. Her eyes went wide at what was happening. Soon, she closed her eyes and began to kiss him back. Slowly, she wrapped her arms around his neck as he pulled her closer to him, making the kiss deeper. He licked her bottom lip, asking for entrance. She slowly parted her lips and let his tongue slip in and met hers. When he started to touch hers with his, she began to play along, moaning softly into his mouth.

He pulled away first, his eyes snapped shut as he took deep breaths. She touched his cheek. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, it's the venom. If you were a vampire, I wouldn't be so worried about it. But since you're still human, I don't want you to get harmed or accidentally get changed."

"How do you change a human into a vampire?"

"The vampire has to take some of the human's blood, while injecting some of the venom, at the same time the human is drinking some of the vampire's blood."

She paused before saying, "If I asked you to change me right now, would you?"

He looked at her. "Sakura, when you first become a vampire, all you think about is craving blood all the time. Kakashi's made us go on this 'diet' so that we only drink animal blood, no human blood. It's not as satisfying but its still worthwhile. But with what's happening right now, I don't think it'd be in your best interest."

"You know, I find it weird how you'll say full sentences to me sometimes, but you'll never say more than four words to the others."

He blushed and looked away. "Don't look too far into this."

She giggled and he smirked. There was a soft scratching on the door, followed by a small whine. Sakura smiled and jumped off the bed, opening the door. Kaji tackled her to the ground, licking her face while she just laughed. Jiraiya walked in. "I couldn't hold her back any longer."

"Thanks, uncle. When are the others going to get here?"

"Well, Tsunade called Hinata and the girls over. As for the guys back at mansion, Sasuke and I are going to go see what's going on."

"Can I come?"

"No, it'd probably be best if you stayed here with your aunt. Did you already forget that they were after you?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry."

Sasuke got off the bed and helped her to her feet. "Wait for me and be safe."

She nodded and he kissed her on the forehead before walking behind Jiraiya out of the house.


	9. Chapter 9: Stalling

Later, Tsunade, Sakura, Hinata, TenTen, Ino, and Temari were sitting in the living room, chatting away while Kaji laid at her master's feet, resting her eyes. Sakura held a steamy mug of hot chocolate, staring out the back window as the sun began to set beyond the endless horizon.

"Sakura-chan?"

Her head swiveled towards the voice, finding all the girls looking at her. "Yes?"

"Is there something wrong? You haven't said a word since we've gotten here," Hinata spoke softly, her fingers twiddling together.

She smiled. "Well, since I was abruptly taken away from the house, I never got to grab my art supplies that I had bought from the mall. I had planned on painting pictures for everyone, but I don't know if the canvases are even still together or if all my colors are still there. Oh, well."

"Well, we could always go back to the mall and get the things that you need," TenTen suggested.

She shook her head. "No, I don't want to burden you with my problems. I'll take care of them myself."

"Sakura, for all you know, we may have a reason of our own to go to the mall. You never know, we may even have to do some Christmas shopping of our own," Temari winked.

"Honestly, we don't have to go. I'm serious."

Suddenly, the front door burst open and the stench of blood masqueraded the air. Jiraiya ran into the living room. "Tsunade, we need your help. Naruto's injured badly and the fox is trying to escape, Neji says that his eyes are hurting, and Shikamaru is in pain all over. The others are unconscious, except for Sai. Sasuke and Kakashi still haven't returned from the mansion."

Sakura was instantly on her feet. "I'll go after them.'

"Sakura, use your head. What if they're just waiting for you to go after them? This could be a trap. I'm not going to let you get captured. TenTen, Temari, Ino, go after them. Hinata, come upstairs with me. I need your help with this." Everyone dispersed, leaving her alone in the room. Kaji sat up, looking up at her with curious eyes. She sighed and flopped back down on the couch, her head laid in her hands.

"What's wrong, Ugly?"

"Go away, Sai. I don't need your insults right now."

She heard a jingling and looked up. His keys were dangling off his finger in front of him. "You know, if you really want to go after them, you can take my car."

Her eyes narrowed. "How do I know that you aren't just trying to trick me?"

"I promise not to tell them that you left. I'll just say that you punched me in the face and took my keys. Just don't ruin my car."

She ran up to him and hugged him. "Thank you so much, Sai. I promise to stay out of the way." She snatched his keys and then punched him in the face. He looked down at her confused. She just shrugged. "You need some sort of evidence that I punched you, right?"

* * *

Hiding behind a tree, he slowed his breathing and then stopped it, knowing that he wouldn't be able to pick up any sounds of heartbeats or breathing, knowing that it wouldn't bother him. He brushed his hair out of his eyes and then heard a twig snap and jumped out, ready to strike when he saw that it was Ino and TenTen. "What are you two doing here?"

"We're looking for you. What are you doing all the way out here?"

"What other reason would I be out here? I'm trying to buy some time."

"Where's Sasuke?"

"He's still in the house. How are the others doing?"

"We're not sure. We left before Tsunade started healing them. Temari should be heading Sasuke's way right now."

"She needs to be careful. Sasuke might be out of it. He's been so intense in battle, I wouldn't be surprised if he let his vampire take over."

"I think she'll be able to handle him, Kakashi."

"I don't doubt her. I'm just worried that they won't make it out of there in time. That mansion won't stay up for too much longer before it comes down."

* * *

Sakura drove the car down the driveway and then turned in towards the forest. She parked it just behind the tree line and then turned to Kaji, telling her to stay in the car. She got out, quietly closing the car door and then running towards the mansion, avoiding as much as possible to keep quiet. As she reached the gates, her eyes scanned over the mansion, finding that it looked like it was ready to collapse ay second. She could see giant cracks running along it and chucks missing from it. She climbed over the gates, since the mechanics had been broken and wouldn't unlock.

As she landed, she ran through what was supposed to be the front door and stopped. The stairs had been demolished and she had no way of getting up there. She ran through the living room, heading for the back stairway, only to find those demolished as well. She quietly groaned in frustration and ran back towards the main staircase, only to crash into someone's chest. She fell to the ground and rubbed her sore. "Itai," she whined, rubbing her bruised hip.

"You really ought to be more careful."

Her head swiveled up and saw the man from in the mall looking down at her. She gasped and began to scoot away from him. He slowly advanced towards her. "Who are you?"

"My name's Ichino. I was the one that you ran into earlier at the mall. Remember?" He held a hand out towards her. "Come, you really should get off the floor."

She slapped his hand away. "Get away from me, you traitor."

"Am I really the traitor? Was it me that let our beloved parents get killed by Orochimaru? Was it Yuka? Or was it you? You knew that they would get killed, yet you decided to only save yourself and your pet."

"They deserved it. They treated me terribly. Whatever I did was never enough for them."

He outstretched his hand again. "Come with me, imooto. I know that you've been waiting to be changed into a vampire for some time know while you've been with these people. If you come with me, you won't have to wait. I'll change you tonight. All you have to do is come with me."

She hesitantly started to reach her hand out, but at the last minute shook her head and jerked her hand back. "No. You're trying to trick me. Get away. I want nothing to do with you, Ichino."

He sighed and leaned down to grab her, when someone tackled him from the side, forcing him against the fireplace. She watched with wide eyes as Sasuke growled loudly in Ichino's face, his eyes were a menacing red as he glared at him. "Keep your hands off her," he growled. His voice was deeper and more sinister.

She whimpered softly, scooting farther away from them. Temari appeared and saw her. "Sakura, what are you doing here? Tsunade told you to stay there. What's wrong with you?"

"I'm sorry. I wanted to help."

"Oh, you're helping very much, my dear," someone said from behind. She looked back and saw Orochimaru towering above her. She scrambled to her feet and attempted to run towards Temari, but he caught her in his arms. "Now, now, don't run away. I don't bite…much." He chuckled and licked her ear, running a hand across her stomach and then up to roughly cup one of her fleshy mounds.

Temari clutched the giant fan that was strapped to her back. "Let her go!" She went to swing it at him, but Kabuto appeared and stopped it with his bare hands. "I don't think so."

"Leave them alone!"

Orochimaru shoved Sakura to the ground as he gripped his head and screamed in agony. A chain wrapped around Kabuto's ankle and yanked him away from Temari. Sasuke wrapped his fingers around Ichino's neck and threw him through the wall. Sakura ran up to him and hugged him around his waist. "Sasuke, stop it!"

He grabbed her by her arms and threw her to the side. "Stay out of the way, girl."

Ichino quickly did some hand signs and an explosion erupted from the basement. The house began to shake and thing began to crumble. Kakashi landed next to Sasuke. "Snap out of it and get Sakura out of here, now."

"I don't take orders from you, old man."

"Sasuke, snap out of it. We don't have time for this. Regain control over yourself and get Sakura out of here," Ino shouted.

Sasuke groaned and laid a hand on his forehead, his eyes changing back to normal. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. He picked Sakura up bridal-style and ran out of the crumbling house. TenTen, Ino, Temari, and Kakashi went after Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Ichino.

Just as Sasuke reached the gates, the house exploded in flames. He fell to the ground, shielding her with his body as chucks of the wall and other objects fell around them. As things calmed down, they could hear a dog barking. Looking up, Kaji was on the other side of the gates, trying to get to them. Sasuke pulled Sakura to her feet and told her to get on his back. As she did, he jumped over the fence and picked up Kaji under his arm. "How'd you get here?"

"I used Sai's car. I parked over there."

He ran in the direction she pointed to, throwing open the car door, pushing Kaji into the back seat as he set Sakura to her feet. "Get in the back and keep your head down until we reach Tsunade's house. Understand?"

She nodded. He ran around to the other side and opened the front door, only to have someone tackle him to the ground. They rolled and Ichino forced him against the tree, his hand tight around his throat. "Did you really think that you would be able to escape from me that easily?" He bashed Sasuke's head against the tree again, a hole the size of his head forming in the bark.

"Sasuke!" Sakura cried through the window. Ichino looked back and smirked at her. Sasuke grabbed his arms and dug his claws into his flesh, drawing blood. "Don't look at her." He threw him against another tree and rubbed his throat quickly while scampering into the car and turning the key. The engine stalled and he tried again, but it still wouldn't turn on.

"Sakura, why won't it turn on?"

"I don't know. It was fine when I got here."

He noticed that the fuel meter showed that it was empty. "Fuck!" Looking up, he saw something sailing towards them. Realizing that it was a tree, he shouted at her, "Get down!" just as it landed on the car. Glass rained on them and the car alarm started to go off.

Sakura coughed and fanned her nose as some scent drifted around them. "Sasuke, what's that smell?" She began to choke as the smell got stronger.

"Shit, that's gasoline." He kicked the car door open and opened the back door. Kaji jumped out and stood behind him. "Sakura, come on."

"I'm stuck."

He cursed under his breath and took her hands. Gently, he wedged her out from between the seats and told her to get on his back again as he picked Kaji up in his arms. He ran at his top vampire speed and ran from the car. Just as they reached the main road, there was another explosion. He could hear fire trucks headed their way. He decided not to stick around and ran towards Tsunade's house.

* * *

Sai was sitting in the living room, sketching a picture in his sketch book, when he heard the front door slam closed. Sasuke stormed into the room with Sakura and Kaji trailing him as he grabbed Sai by the collar and pulled him to his feet. "Did you purposely give her your car with barely any gas in it so that we wouldn't be able to escape?" he hissed.

"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about, emo-boy."

Sasuke growled and threw him against the wall. "Did you want to get her killed?"

Sai put his hands up in a defense sign. "Sasuke, I assure you that I didn't know that it was nearly empty. I thought it had at least half a tank. Why would I want to get her killed?"

Sakura grabbed Sasuke's arm before he could attack him. "Sasuke, just leave him alone. He's not worth it."

Tsunade came into the room. "Sakura, where have you been?"

"Out."

"Don't lie to me, young lady."

Sakura bowed her head. "I disobeyed you and went after Sasuke and Kakashi."

"Even after I told you that it could be a trap?" She nodded. Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose. "You're not hurt are you?"

She shook her head.

"Yes, she is."

Both women looked at Sasuke. He turned Sakura around and pointed to gash that was along the side of her back, which luckily wasn't too close to her spine. Tsunade fumed. "What the hell happened?"

"It must've happened when the mansion exploded. But I never felt it."

Tsunade grabbed the both of them by their arms, her finely manicured red nails digging into their skins. "Tsunade-obaa, you're hurting me."

"Good. This is what you get for disobeying me." She dragged them up the stairs into the room that they were using as the recovery room.

* * *

Later, Kakashi, Ino, TenTen, and Temari had returned, declaring that they had lost track of the three other vampires. Tsunade was furious that they had escaped again and told everyone that they'd have to keep their guards up and that Sakura would have to be more careful wherever she went. She nodded and grasped Sasuke's hand in hers.

Everyone went to bed, after Tsunade checked the injured. Sasuke and Sakura shared a bed while Kaji slept at the foot of the bed on the ground. Sakura was snuggled in his arms as he ran his fingers lightly across her back. "How are you feeling?"

"Okay, I guess. My back doesn't really hurt as much as it should and I kind of feel a little loopy."

He brushed his lips against her forehead. "That's okay. Just go to sleep. Get some rest."

"What about you?"

"I don't have to sleep every night. Just when I feel like it."

She nodded and closed her eyes. "Sasuke?"

"Hm?"

"I'm glad that you and Naruto were the ones to rescue me that day in the forest from Orochimaru and Kabuto. Thank you."

He smirked and kissed her hair. "Your welcome."

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Because if I hadn't come into your lives, you'd still be living in your mansion, all of you happy. You'd still be with Karin and you would have all of your things with you. It's my fault that you lost everything."

"Sakura, I don't care are that. So what if these things happened? We could always rebuild the mansion. Besides, Orochimaru would've still been after you and sooner or late the vampire council would've sent us after you. There's nothing to be sorry for."

She nodded. "When do you think Orochimaru is going to attack again?"

"I don't know. But we're just going to have to keep our eyes open and be ready for any unexpected attacks. Kakashi always said to look beneath the unexpected."

"One day, when all this is over, will you change me into a vampire?"

"I don't know. I'd have to think about it, okay?"

But she was already asleep. He tightened his hold on her a bit. "Why do you want to become a monster like me? You shouldn't want to throw your life away like this. You still your whole life ahead of you." He looked up at th ceiling. "Kami, don't let anything happen to her if I'm not around to help her. I don't want her to become what none of us wanted to become."

* * *

**_Okay, people, i need your opinion for the next chapter. Should i have someone attack Sakura while she somehow happens to be alone and she gets bitten, or should i have the story build up to her getting changed. Tell me what you think. So, review, review, review._**


	10. Chapter 10: I Can't Do It

**_Okay, so a lot of people had suggested that i have her get attacked while she was alone and have Sasuke change her because she would die if he didn't. So, here's the chapter. Tell me if it seems too rushed or if it's okay. Keep reviewing people, i love them. =_]**

* * *

A month had passed since the attack, and they all were still living with Tsunade and Jiraiya. Sakura's wound on her back had healed, leaving a white scar along the side of her back. As another Thursday rolled around, it was another day at school and another day to fall asleep in anatomy class. Shizune walked around the front of the class calling roll.

"Hiko Fujimori."

"Here."

"Sakura Haruno."

Silence.

"Sakura isn't here?"

TenTen raised her hand. "Um, sensei, she's asleep. Should I wake her up?"

Shizune spotted Sakura with her head on the desk, snoozing softly. She sighed. "Yes, please wake her up." She continued on with the role. "Karin Hebi."

TenTen leaned over and rested her hand on Sakura's back, shaking her. "Hey, Sakura, it's time to wake up."

She mumbled something softly before fluttering her eyes open. "What's going on?" she yawned.

"You fell asleep before class even started."

"Oh, yeah. Sorry about that."

"Sakura, you must stay awake during my class. I'm not sure what some of your other teachers are letting you do but you cannot sleep in my class. Understand?" She mainly talking about Kakashi since she knew that he sometimes let his students sleep in his class.

"Yes, Shizune-sensei."

"Good. This time I'll let you off with a warning. But next time I'm sending you straight to detention."

"Yes, Shizune-sensei." She heard some of the other students snicker at her.

Shizune set the roster down with the students' names on it. "Alright class, we have a new student here that transferred from home schooling. So, please be nice to him and welcome him to our school."

The door opened and a boy stepped in, wearing the white uniform. Sakura and TenTen gasped. The boy smiled at the class in front of him. "Ohayo, everyone. My name is Ichino Haruno. It's nice to meet you all." Everyone looked back at Sakura when he announced his name. She shrunk in her seat. Someone raised their hand and asked him, "Are you related to Sakura?"

"In fact I am. I had no idea she was coming here. We're cousins, actually," he lied smoothly. Shizune smiled sweetly at him and looked for an open seat, scanning the room. "Ichino, you can sit next to Karin for this class."

As he sat down, she continued on with her lesson. "Alright class, now that that's over with, I'm going to be checking your project that was due today about the human body. I know some of you emailed it to me, which I thank you for. The rest of you can pass your papers up."

TenTen and Sakura looked at each other frantically. "Shit, I forgot. With all that's going on, I completely forgot about our homework," TenTen whispered.

"I know. We can't tell her that we were attacked by some supernatural vampires. What are we going to do?"

"TenTen, Sakura, is there something that you'd like to share?" Shizune asked as she collected the papers.

They both gulped and TenTen spoke up. "Well, we weren't able to finish the assignment, sensei."

"And why not?"

They shrugged their shoulders. "We didn't have enough time. We're still trying to get used to the house that we're living in since our old house had exploded."

She gasped. "Was that your house that I saw on the news a couple weeks ago?" They both hesitantly nodded. "Oh well, I'll give you until the end of next class period to turn in your assignment and I won't count them late." Both girls looked at each other. "As for the rest of you, I will take points off for it being late." Some people groaned. "Alright, while I check your papers take out your textbook and read from pages 276 to 290 and answer the questions on page 291. If you don't finish it in class, do it for homework. Get to work." She plopped down in her chair and began to read over the papers.

As Sakura read, she couldn't help but noticed how she would catch Ichino watching her while Karin tried to shamelessly flirt with him, unbuttoning her shirt a little. She glanced at the clock. _Ugh. Only thirty more minutes until class is over and we can head to lunch._

**_ We need to tell the others about this._**

_I thought I got rid of you. Besides, it's not like I don't already know that. As soon as the bell rings, we're heading straight for the lunchroom._

She looked back down at her textbook and continued to read. Soon, the bell sounded and the students shuffled to their sensei's desk, handing in their assignments. Sakura and TenTen dashed out the door, running for the cafeteria. Sakura was in the lead while TenTen trailed behind, making sure that Ichino wasn't behind them. She saw him file out amongst the crowd and glare at her, making a beeline for them, shoving his way through the crowd. "Sakura, run faster." They burst through the double doors and spotted everyone else sitting at their usual table. They ran up to the girls and Sakura dug her jacket out, throwing it on and pulling the hood over her head, laying her head in her arms. TenTen scrambled to get her hair down out of their buns.

"What's going on?" Yuka asked.

"Don't say anything," TenTen hissed and pulled Yuka's hood over her head just Ichino walked into the room. The girls gasped and ducked their heads down as he scanned the crowd. They watched out the corner of their eyes as he walked out of the cafeteria, heading outside. They breathed a sigh of relief. "Sakura, he's gone."

She peeked up and saw that it was all clear. She threw her hood off and patted her hair down. "That was too close."

"Way too close. What is he doing here?" Ino asked.

"I don't know, but he's probably here to keep an eye on us. He's in our class with Shizune-sensei. He announced that he was Sakura's cousin to the classroom."

A girl with dark blue hair pulled up into a tight bun came over and asked Sakura, "Hey, can you hook me up with your cousin? He's really cute."

"No," she said in disgust.

She frowned. "Well fine. I'll just get him myself."

"Go ahead. I'm not stopping ya."

She stalked away just as the guys came and sat with the girls. "What up with you girls? You looked like you've just seen a ghost," Naruto said loudly.

The girls reached over and slapped their hands across his mouth just as they saw Ichino pass by the cafeteria again. They waited a couple seconds after he disappeared to remove their hands.

"Seriously, what's going on?"

"Ichino's here," Yuka whispered harshly, scanning the lunchroom to make sure that he wasn't in the room with them.

Neji ran his fingers through TenTen's long hair. "That doesn't explain why your hair is out of their buns."

"Ichino is in my last period with Sakura and he started following us here. So, we had to look different so that he wouldn't spot us." She sighed. "And it took me forever to put my hair up this morning." She began to work on getting her hair back up.

"You mean you don't sleep with the buns in your hair?" Naruto asked, looking genuinely confused. Everyone just gave him a look.

"We're getting off subject here. The point is that Ichino somehow was able to weasel himself into the school – past Tsunade, might I add – and is closer to Sakura than before. She's not safe here in the school," Yuka said.

"But she's not safe alone at home either. Once Ichino notices that Sakura's not here, he could easily contact Orochimaru and Kabuto and tell them that she could be at home since we know that he's here. They're going to be expected us to leave her at home alone and I doubt that Jiraiya would be willing to watch her everyday until they attack us," Itachi said.

"Then we have to think of some other place that we can put her while we try and eliminate their threat to her," Sasuke stated. Everyone looked at Shikamaru. He looked back at everyone else.

"Why me?"

"Because you're the brains of this group and can come up with a battle strategy quicker than anyone else," Temari said, looping arms with him, batting her long eyelashes at him.

He sighed. "This is getting troublesome. Why can't they just leave us alone?"

Sakura looked down at her hands resting in her lap. They were all going through this trouble and it was all because of her. She knew that Sasuke told her she had nothing to worry about, but she still couldn't help the feeling she felt. If she wasn't here, she was sure that everyone surrounding her would be having a good time right, not having to worry about anything really. Why did the vampire counsel have to have them rescue her? She only got in the way and caused trouble for anyone she was around.

**_ You just thought of the best answer possible for you to hide until they kill Oro and his minions._**

_What are you talking about?_

_ **The vampire counsel you idiot. I know you were about to think of just handing yourself over to Orochimaru. But why not try this idea first before surrendering?**_

"That's it."

Everyone looked at her. "You have an idea? Shikamaru still has nothing."

"What is the highest position that you can get as a vampire?"

"A position in the vampire counsel," TenTen answered.

"And who rules the vampire race and who do most villain vampires fear most?"

"The vampire counsel," Sai said.

"So, wouldn't I be safe with the vampire counsel?"

"They'd never allow it. They believe that the guardian should be able to protect their person at all times," Itachi responded.

"Besides, I'd never let you stay with them," Sasuke growled.

"What if Sakura helped us fight Oro?" Yuka suggested.

"Are you crazy?" Ino shrieked. "As soon as he realized she was in the battle, he'd kill her in an instant."

"Not entirely. Sakura _can_ protect herself. We didn't learn only super strength from Tsunade-obaa." Yuka looked at Sasuke. "Why do you think she always has a kunai with her? Tsunade taught us how to fight."

"I'm not letting her enter the battle. I won't let her get killed."

"Shouldn't it be what I want to do?"

"No," everyone answered. She shrunk back. She looked around and spotted Ichino leaning against the window outside the cafeteria. She pursed her lips, looking at everyone around the table. No one was paying attention to her, they to engaged in their heated discussion. She slowly slipped from the table and walked outside, finding him with a cigarette between his fingers. There was no one else outside as the wind blew across their faces. He blew the smoke in her direction and she coughed, fanning the air around her.

He just smirked. "What are you doing out here, Sak? I thought you were trying to hide from me. Oh, and putting the hood on didn't keep you from me. I knew where you were, I just didn't feel like making a scene." He put the cigarette between his lips and inhaled.

"So, what's stopping you from killing me now? We're alone and there's no one around. You could easily grab me and make a run for it. Or is there something else that I'm missing?"

He smiled. "I just don't feel like capturing you right now. To tell you the truth I'm about as lazy as Shikamaru is, if not, more."

"I don't understand. Don't you want to kill me?"

"Sakura, I have a choice and I don't feel like killing you at this moment. So why don't you head back to inside to your friends and your guardian and continue plotting against us?" The smoke poured from his lips as he spoke.

"Because they won't listen to anything I have to say."

He took another swig. "Why are you so intent on trying to get me to capture you?"

"Because I want to know why you have to drag everyone else into this. It doesn't make sense."

He chuckled. "Sakura, as long as we find someone who would instantly notice your disappearance we have to kill them, especially if they're a vampire. We can't take the risk of the vampire counsel coming after us."

"They already are after you. Tsunade notified them about your last attack and they're furious. They're searching for you right now as we speak. And one thing I want to know is how you were able to get past Tsunade without her noticing."

"Such feeble minds, you humans. It's easy. I just hypnotize my way in and log myself into the database. When I'm done with my job here, I delete my file and get on my way."

"Ichino?"

"What now?"

She bit her lip and looked up at him with watery eyes. "Do you really want to kill me? I never knew you as a brother and now that you want to kill me, I'll never get to know you."

He stared at her with wide eyes before sighing and dropping the cigarette butt on the ground, smothering it with his foot. He laid a hand on top of her head, leaning to whisper in her ear, "I'm stalling as long as I can." He kissed her cheek and disappeared.

The door swung open and Sasuke and Yuka stood there, looking absolutely angry. "Sakura, where is he?''

She just looked at them with a tear-stained face. Sasuke pulled her into his arms as she clutched his shirt. He stroked her hair. "Don't worry. Everything's okay. He's not going to hurt you."

She looked up at him. "Sasuke, please, let me fight."

He looked at Yuka and Itachi, who had just appeared. They both looked at each other before nodding at Sasuke. He sighed and laid his head on top of hers. "Alright. But we have to come up with a battle strategy and we all have to contribute to it. We can't just force Shikamaru to come up with it and automatically think that it'll work. We have to think of all the possibilities that could happen and tighten it up. We have to make sure there are no holes in the plan."

"Meaning that we have to think like the enemy when coming up with our plan," Yuka said, hitting the bottom of her fists against her palm. "That's a great idea. I'll tell Kakashi next period what we're going to do. When we get home, we have to start putting the plan together, so start thinking of a plan during our last three periods."

They all nodded, heading back inside to tell the others the plan.

"So, when we come up with the plan, we're all going to start training, which means that we're going to have to train with Sakura too, right?" Hinata asked.

"That's right. Once we're sure that we've got it down, we'll just have to prepare for the battle."

"But what if they attack while we're training?" Naruto asked out loud.

"Then we're going to have to train quickly and soon," Itachi responded.

Temari stood and pulled Sakura up from her seat by her arm. Sakura cringed back from Temari's angry yet determined face. "Are you ready for some intense training, Sakura?" She nodded hesitantly. "You have to show me that you're ready for any type of training that we throw at you, even if it seems improbable for you to do it."

Sakura just stared at her before giving curt nod. Temari smiled. "Good answer."

* * *

Throughout the rest of the day, everyone sat in their classes, trying to think of battle plans. When the bell rang for the end of the day, Sasuke and Neji found Sakura putting her books away in her locker, telling her to head straight home.

"Why?"

"We have to speak to Tsunade. Don't worry. We already told Tsunade that we were sending you home and she said that Jiraiya's at the house."

She nodded and hugged Sasuke around the waist. He blushed slightly and wrapped his arms around her. "Thank you for letting me participate in the battle, Sasuke-kun." She gave a smile before running off. Neji watched him watch Sakura as she left, a tiny small adorning his lips.

"You're in love with her."

"What?"

"You love her."

"No I don't." His cheeks tinged pink.

"You're lucky she's just a human. She would've been upset if she heard that," he said as he turned around and started to head for Tsunade's office. "You must at least like her, right?"

"Why are you suddenly so interested?"

"Because all of us have agreed that we don't want you to be with Karin anymore. It's not good for you to be with someone like her and she's a bitch and you know it. Besides, all of us have warmed up to Sakura anyway and she's not bitchy or demanding like the red banshee."

"Point taken."

* * *

As Sakura rode on her bike, she couldn't help but feel like something was wrong. As she got closer to the house, the feeling only got worse. She began to slow down as she rode down the bumpy driveway, but decided that it was probably her getting anxious for the training that was to come. As she parked the motorcycle in front of the front door, she stomach gave a terrible heave. She wrapped her arm around herself as she flung her bag on her back and took the helmet off. Walking inside, she went into the kitchen and took two painkillers, downing them with a glass of water.

**_I'm surprised the Kaji or Jiraiya didn't greet us._**

_ I know. I'm more surprised about Kaji than Jiraiya. She normally can't bear it when she has to leave my side. We should go look for her._

She set the glass down in the sink and left the kitchen, heading for the living room. Seeing no one there, she headed up the stairs when her ears picked up something shuffle behind her. She spun around and her eyes scanned the staircase, her heart beating erratically in her chest as her skin began to feel hot and sticky. She decided not to search the house. She knew Jiraiya and Kaji better than anyone. They would've at least said hello to her by now, even if they were in the backyard. Jiraiya was a vampire anyway, so he would have came to find her and tell her where he was. Hearing another noise she began to run outside towards her motorcycle. She was going head back to the school as quickly as possible. She swung her leg over it, threw the helmet on, and kicked the kickstand back before speeding back down the driveway towards the main road.

She was hit on the side and knocked off the bike. Everything was a blur as she tried to roll to a stop, hitting a tree and groaning in pain. She ripped the helmet from her head and threw it away from her. "Stupid helmet," she muttered. She spotted her bike not too far from her, laying on the gravel driveway. She sighed and clutched the tree to steady her self as she stood.

Just as she was about to head for her bike a body pressed up against hers, a hand on her waist and the other pressed against the tree next to her head. The person leaned down and whispered, "Why hello there, beautiful. What brings you to this neck of the woods?"

She shivered as she heard the voice. "Suigetsu."

He grinned and brushed her hair from her neck, licking the skin there. "I'm surprised that you remember me. I haven't spoken to you since the last time we met."

"How could I forget your disgusting voice?"

He frowned. "Watch your tongue, wench."

She spun around and spat in his face. "Make me." She tried to make a break for it, but he caught her around her waist. He wiped his face off and glared at her. "You're becoming a real thorn in my side."

A tall muscular man with spiky orange hair and a hard expression landed behind him. "Suigetsu, would you hurry up? We need to get going before the rest of her people come this way."

He turned and grinned at the man. "Juugo, my dear friend, would you kindly do me a favor?" Juugo raised an eyebrow. "Since I'm only part vampire and you're a full vampire, could you bite this woman for me? Maybe inject a little venom in her system?"

"Why not?" He stepped forward. Sakura struggled to get away, anything to get to her bike and ride away. Juugo grabbed her roughly by the arms, hard enough to leave bruises. She cried out at his strength and he leaned down, skimming his dirty fangs across her neck.

"Please…don't do this."

"And why shouldn't I?"

She kicked her legs, but it didn't faze him. "Please, stop!"

He sunk his fangs in and she screamed at the top of her lungs.

* * *

Hinata gasped as they ended the conversation with Tsunade. Everyone looked at her. Naruto grabbed her hand. "What's wrong?''

"It's Sakura. She's in trouble. Two people have caught her. I can't find Jiraiya or Kaji."

"Do you know who attacked her?"

"It's Suigetsu and Juugo."

Sasuke and Yuka were already out the door, racing at their top speeds towards the house. The others ran behind them as they tried to figure out what was going on.

* * *

Sakura sunk to the ground, her body shaking violently as Juugo let go of her, leaving bruises the size and shape of his hands on her pale skin. She gasped for air as she felt it escape her lungs and a dull burning begin to flow through her body.

"Juugo, let's go. Our job here is done. We have to report back to the snake bastard anyway." He nodded and followed Suigetsu away from the area.

Jiraiya came limping towards her – a hand laid against his stomach as blood seeped from between his fingers – the pain began to intensify with in her and she couldn't breath at all, her face beginning to turn a light blue and the blue veins beginning to show underneath her pale skin. He cursed and lifted her head in his arms. Her eyes had rolled to the back of her head as her body still shook and tried to get oxygen. He then noticed the two bleeding holes on the side of her neck.

"Oh Kami, they bit you."

"Jiraiya!"

He looked back and saw Sasuke and Yuka running up to him. They fell to their knees and Sasuke pulled her into his arms. "Where the hell were you?!"

"I was ambushed. When she got to the house, they hid from her taking me and Kaji with them, but she must've sensed that something was wrong because she ran out of the house."

"Where's Kaji?" Yuka asked.

"I don't know. I couldn't find her."

She stood and ran towards the house after telling Sasuke to take care of her sister. Jiraiya looked at Sasuke. "Listen, there's only one thing we can do to save her."

"I'll do anything. Tell me now." He kept his eyes trained on Sakura as the blue veins began to come more and more noticeable under her skin.

"You have to suck the poison out of her bloodstream. Once you do that, you have to change her."

"What?!"

"It's the only way. If you don't, she's going to die."

Her fingers blindly grasped the air and he twined his fingers with hers. He squeezed his eyes shut. "I can't put her through that. I don't want to throw her life away. There has to be another way."

"Sasuke! You have to do this."

"I…I can't." Her fingers were starting to loosen their grip and her body began to shake a little less, not gasping for air as much.

"Do you want her die? Do you want her to be gone from our lives forever?"

He stared at the older man before sighing and leaning down towards the bite mark. "Please, forgive me Sakura." He set his fangs in her skin and began to suck, his eyes closing as she screamed, her fingers gripping the back of his jacket. Once he was sure the venom was out of her system, he pulled away. "Sakura, can you hear me?"

"Sa…"

"Sakura, listen to me, you have to drink my blood okay?"

She didn't respond; she was still gasping for air. He bit his wrist and held up to her mouth. He supported her head with the other hand and let his blood pass through her lips. He leaned down and bit her again, letting his venom slip into her blood as he drank some more of her blood. She moaned against his skin and he groaned into her neck.

"Sasuke…Sasuke, that's enough!" Jiraiya yelled.

He yanked himself away and jerked his hand back from her lips. She gave him one last look before her eyes rolled back into her head. He pulled her against his chest, giving silent sobs. "I'm sorry. Please forgive me. I couldn't protect you. I'm so sorry."


	11. Chapter 11: Hunting

Yuka had found Kaji laying in the dining room under the table with one of her front paws fractured, so she and Itachi took her to the vet. But not before Yuka had practically yelled at Sasuke, demanding why he changed her. When Jiraiya explained she glared at Sasuke, who had gladly accepted her yelling, and told him that he would be the one to explain why she craved blood and wanted to rip human throats out. While everyone was helping to rearrange everything back into its original place, Sasuke sat upstairs with in the room that and Sakura slept in, sitting next to her as he waited for her to wake up. Tonight was a new moon and when a human is changed they always awake on the night of the new moon.

So, he sat next to the bed, her hand encased in his larger ones, as he impatiently waited for her to wake up. There was no sound as he listened to her heartbeat begin to slow down and her breathing as well. He had checked her teeth earlier and saw fangs beginning to form and saw the claws that adorned her fingers.

_Soon, her heart's going to stop and she's going to hate me. She'll hate me for changing her._

**_Are you serious?_**

_ What do you want? Can't you see I'm busy right now?  
_

_**What? Moping around? Dude, she practically begged you to change her that one day. She did want to be changed, didn't she? So, why would she be mad at you?**_

_ Maybe when she wakes she won't be mad. But when she realizes what she has to deal with as a vampire, she'll hate me for changing her. Dammit, I'm her guardian and I shouldn't have sent her home. I should've sent her to Kakashi's class. Why was I so stupid? The vampire counsel is going to be pissed and I don't feel like dealing with them right now._

**_ We'll just have to wait to see what happens. Now pay attention, I think she's waking up._**

He lifted his head and watched as her eyelids tightened and then began to flutter open. He watched her emerald colored orbs scan the room, wonder and amazement glazing her eyes. She looked at the blood red wall and white trim, the pleats in the lampshade, and the wrinkles of the deep red bed sheets. He gave her hand a light squeeze. Her eyes slowly traveled towards him, gazing deeply into his coal colored ones. She pulled her hand out of his and lightly touched his cheek. He sighed and nuzzled her palm, purring softly. She giggled and he looked at her. "What?"

"You purred like a kitten. I didn't know vampires could purr."

He frowned. "I don't purr. I growl."

She smoothed out the frown lines on his forehead. "Don't frown. It doesn't look nice on your face."

He sighed and pulled her hand away from his face. "Aren't you mad at me?"

It was her turn to frown. "Why would I be mad at you? I am a little upset since I was attacked and you weren't there, but I'm not really mad at you."

"How much do you remember?"

"I just remember this guy named Juugo biting me on the neck and then blackness. Then, I woke up here with you next to me."

He sighed again, looking away from her. "Do you feel any different?"

"Yeah, I feel like someone opened my eyes for the first time. Everything is so clear and I feel like someone turned up the volume of the world. I can hear everything. Its so weird."

"Sakura, I have to tell you something. But I feel like you'll get angry at me for what I did." She just looked at him, waiting for him to speak. He took a deep breath and said, "I changed you into a vampire." She stared at him for a moment and then turned her gaze away from him, taking her hand out of his. His heart gave a lurch before he continued, "I'm sorry, but it was my only option. It was either this or let you die and I…I couldn't let you die. None of us would be able to bear it if you did."

She pressed the palms of her hands against her eyes and curled her toes, stretching her arms above her head. "I don't see why you're apologizing."

"Because I took your life away from you with your permission. You could've done so many things, yet you can't do them now because of me." He refused to look into her eyes as they conversed.

"Sasuke, you keep saying that I had a whole life ahead of me, but you're wrong. When Yuka disappeared, it was like driving in pitch black darkness with no lights and when you see you're in danger, it's too late to avoid it. My sister was ripped away from me, my parents were killed by Orochimaru and Kabuto, and my brother is out to kill me. I don't see how I had my whole life ahead of me."

She grabbed his hands and pulled him to sit next to her. He still refused to look at her fully, keeping his eyes trained on the sheets. She got on her knees and leaned forward, brushing her lips against his. "I really wish you would look at me when I speak. I feel like you're not paying attention to me when you do that." She pressed her lips firmly against his, kissing him with all she had. He cupped her face in his hands and deepened the kiss, licking her bottom lip. She moaned and he slipped his tongue in, twining with hers. He pressed her down into the bed and settled himself between her legs.

He pulled away and kissed the column of her neck. "Sakura, you don't know how long I've wanted to touch you like this," he breathed, running his hands underneath her shirt, massaging the tight muscles of her stomach.

"How long?"

"Far too long." He kissed her lips again, groaning into her mouth as her hips bucked on their own accord, pressing against his. Suddenly an intense burning started in her neck. She thought to ignore it, but when it got worse she pulled away.

"What's wrong?"

She gripped her throat. "Why does it burn?"

"You need to feed." He sliced his wrist and held it up to her. "Just to tide you over until we find somewhere to hunt."

She hesitantly licked the blood dribbling from the cut and then wrapped her lips around it, drinking greedily. He groaned as he felt some more of his blood rush to his groin. His fist clenched as he tried to suppress the feelings building in him. "Sak…Sakura…"

She pulled away slowly and licked the wound closed. "Let's go hunting, shall we?"

* * *

Yuka and Itachi stood in the waiting room, standing in front of the window, waiting for someone to come and tell them that Kaji was going to be alright. Apparently the fractured bone was out of line and they had to perform a surgery to make sure that she would be okay and it didn't hurt her.

Itachi wrapped his arms around her waist and laid his chin on her shoulder. "Are you worried?"  
"Of course I'm worried. What a silly question. Sakura would be completely upset if Kaji was in pain all the time. She'd just blame herself. That doctor better not be causing Kaji any more pain in there or I'll give him a piece of my mind."

"Yuka-chan, I'm talking about your sister. Are you worried that she won't make it?"

"Why would I be thinking that?"

"Well, you've been very quiet lately and I'm worried about you. I mean, your sister was attacked unexpectedly and she did have to get changed or she was going to die and we all know that Sasuke wasn't going to let her die. You'd kill him if he did."

She gave a small smile and he watched it in the reflection of the window. "I am worried about her. Your brother keeps worrying that she'll be mad at him. I know that she wanted to be changed, but…what if she didn't want it right now? I don't want her to be mad at him. She has to understand the reason we had to change her."

He rubbed the skin of her arms, trying to calm her down. "Just relax. I'm sure your sister will be okay. I don't think Sasuke's going to be willing to let her get harmed anymore."

She sighed. "I just can't help but worry."

"I know how you feel. It's an older sibling feel, right?"

She giggled and turned, hugging him around his waist. "I love you, Itachi-kun. Thank you for helping calm my nerves."

"It's what I do best, right? I love you too much to see you upset, you know that."

She smiled. "I know."

They heard shoes click down the hallway towards them. They turned just as the doctor came in, a clipboard clutched in his hand. His expression was blank and stone-like. They could tell if he was feeling anything at all at the moment. "Please, sit down."

They glanced at each other before sitting near him. "What happened? Is Kaji okay?"

The doctor held a hand up. "I'm not quiet sure how to say this."

Itachi growled, "Is my sister's dog going to be okay or not?"

* * *

Sasuke stood off behind the tree line, watching Sakura as she sat perched on a tree branch, watching the pack of deer beneath her. He had already had his fill, trying to show her how to hunt. When she had still felt uncertain, he told her to just follow her instincts. She only looked at him unsure and then decided to try it. He heard her begin to growl and he knew that her vampire self was getting impatient from lack of food, since he knew that his blood had to have worn off by now.

She maneuvered to crouch on the balls of her feet on the branch silently, gripping it in her hands, getting ready to strike a deer. He knew which one she was going for. A good looking buck that stood in the middle of the group. She licked her lips and launched, tackling it down to the ground, breaking one of its legs. All the others ran, running straight past him as he stood completely still.

She jabbed her fangs into its neck as it squealed and yelped, making any sort of noise for help. But they'd all been scared off. She squeezed just a tad and snapped its neck, the noise irritating her. She drank the buck dry and threw the carcass on the ground, licking the excess off her lips and fingers. He walked up to her and took her hands from her mouth. "I think you got it all," he said softly, kissing the corner of her mouth. Sometime during their conversation earlier, he hadn't noticed the red line around her irises.

She just grinned. "Sorry. I'm just really hungry. Do you guys only hunt deer? They don't put up much of a fight."

"We hunt other things like bears, mountain lions, deer, and caribou. Would you like to see if we can find something like that?"

She nodded eagerly. He smirked and grabbed her hand, sprinting in a direction further away from the house. Ultimately in the end, she had hunted three bears, six deer, and two elk. She'd be satisfied for two weeks at the most. As they ran back, Sasuke sighed.

"Did I do something wrong?"

He shook his head. "It's just that you ate the most out of all on our first hunt. The most I had was two mountain lions and three deer."

She just shrugged.

He grabbed her hand and pressed her firmly against a tree as he devoured his lips. Just as she was about to kiss back he pulled away. "I can't get enough of you, Sakura. Watching hunt like that was so erotic. What have you done to me?"

"I don't care right now. Just kiss me." Their lips smashed together as they tongue wrestled. He groaned and grabbed her hips, pressing them against his own. She arched her back and moaned, feeling his erection press against her core through her dirty uniform. He smirked against her lips and began to kiss down her neck to her collarbone, sucking hard enough to leave a mark while she moaned in his ear. He began to unbutton her shirt and when he popped the last button he palmed her breasts through her flimsy half-cup lace bra, seeing her hardened nipple peek out from the cups. She bit her lips to stifle her moan.

"Sakura, how many of these do you have?"

"A lot?"

"Good. Wear them. I like them… a lot." He pushed the cups down and took a peak into his mouth, swirling his tongue around the pink bud. She cried out and gripped his hair, pulling him closer. He groaned and pulled her hips closer, but then heard a twig snap near them. He pulled himself away from her and pushed her behind him. "Get dressed."

She did as she was told, pushing her breasts back into their cups and buttoning up her shirt. She looked around, trying to find the source of the sound. She spotted a sliver of orange and yellow and smirked. Crouching down, she kept her eyes trained on it and silently stalked in the opposite direction, planning to attack him from the other side. Sasuke saw what she was doing and noticed what she was going for. He decided to do the same to the spot of silver that he saw.

Once she was sure that she had a clear shot she sprinted in his direction and tackled him to the ground. He grunted as they tumbled to a stop, him trying to gain the upper hand and pin her down. But since she was a newborn, she was stronger than him and pinned his arms down as they stopped. She grinned down at him. "Hi, Naruto."

He chuckled nervously. "Hey, Sakura-chan. What are you doing out here?"

"No, I think the question is more of what are you two doing out here?"

"Two?"

"Sasuke caught Kakashi, I know that."

He laughed uneasily again. "Oh, right. Well, we were just making sure that you two were doing okay because you know you being a newborn and everything. You two were gone a while and we were beginning to worry that something had happened to you two."

"Sasuke wouldn't let anything hurt me. He's my guardian."

He snorted. "Like the teme could protect you," he mumbled.

"Mind running that by me again, dobe?"

He gulped and looked back, grinning innocently as Sakura got off of him and walked up beside Sasuke. He glared daggers at the obnoxious blonde.

"I honestly don't know what you're talking about."

"If it wasn't for the Hinata, you would be dead right now," he growled. "Don't ever insult my guardianship again, got it." Naruto nodded quickly and jumped to his feet.

Kakashi walked up to them. "Alright you two, enough fighting for tonight. Stop being a bunch of little boys and head back home." Just as Sakura turned to run with them, Kakashi grabbed her hand. "I want to talk to you in private."

Sasuke gave her a quick kiss on the lips before running with Naruto back to Tsunade's house. She gave the silver-haired man her attention.

"Now that you're a vampire, I have to talk to you about some things. First off, you can't attend school this week or the next two weeks. The reason is because as a newborn your body is going to be craving human blood and since you already know that we don't do that…If I were to let you go to school next week or even tomorrow, your vampire side would immediately take over and you'd kill everyone."

She gasped.

"I know that's not what you want to do, so we're going to have to keep you from large crowds as a precaution. If you ever find yourself in large crowds, hold your breath until you are far enough away. Even the slightest trace of a human's scent could send you into a frenzy." She nodded. "I have to say though, you are doing extremely well for being a vampire for about two to three hours. The others, when they were newborns, had red eyes and were always demanding something to feed off of. It took them about half a year before they could even be around at least three humans."

"Well, maybe it's because I've been living with you guys for about two months now, so maybe I just kind of got used to it."

"Second, you know about the burning that you get in your throat, correct?" She nodded. "If you ever feel it and it gets too intense, find one of us and we'll take you hunting. Whatever you do, stay away from humans. It only burns when you need to feed."

"Got it. No human contact for three weeks, monitor the burning in my throat, anything else?"

"Last, be sure not to reveal what you are unless you are absolutely sure there are no humans around or if all the people around you are vampires."

"How would I be able to tell?"

"It's by the scents. Human scents would smell delicious while vampire scents don't really smell that good. Just make sure, okay?"

She nodded. "Thank you, Kakashi."

"One last thing, Sakura."

"Yeah?"

"Since Sunday is Christmas, after dinner everyone agreed to tell you about why they were changed. We thought you at least deserved to know."

"You guys don't have to tell me. It's not necessary."

He walked up to her and pulled her in his arms. "You're the only human girl that we've told what we are. Everyone, including Sai, Sasuke, and Neji – are quite happy that you agreed to stay with us after your moment of freaking out. No one wants you to leave us, Sakura. I'm glad to have adopted you as my daughter."

She smiled against his shirt and hugged him back. "Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me what you all were. I'm glad you did."

"Come on. I think Sasuke's getting anxious for you to be back with him."

She laughed and ran with him back to the house, knowing that Sasuke was probably yelling at Kakashi telepathically that they needed to hurry up.

* * *

When they reached the house, Sasuke was pacing in front of the front door while Naruto sat on the steps, watching him with a bored look. When they approached, Sasuke pulled her into his arms, breathing in her scent. She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Hello to you too, Sasuke."

"Don't laugh at me. I had every reason to be worried," he mumbled, his words muffled a bit by her skin as he kissed her neck.

"We should go inside," Naruto said. "It's getting boring out here."

Just before they closed the door, they all heard a car turn off the main road onto the gravel driveway, headed for the house. Sasuke pushed Sakura inside. "Go in the living room."

She nodded and ran into the house, watching from the windows to see what was happening. Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi waited until they saw the familiar black color of Itachi's Maserati. Yuka got out after he parked and opened the back door, picking Kaji up out of the back seat. There was a cast wrapped around her front paw and she whimpered loudly as Yuka carried her into the house. The three men stepped out of her way as she walked into the living room and set her down on the floor, telling her to stay there. Sakura went and sat next to her, petting her head as she tried to lick her hand.

Yuka came back with a syringe in her hand, a clear liquid already in it. She lifted Kaji's paw and gently eased the needle in the underside of her paw. She whimpered loudly and then began to laps into unconsciousness. Sakura looked at her older sister. "What did you do?!"

"I gave her some anesthetics. The doctor had to do some surgery on her paw, but also found some broken ribs and some kind of poison in her system. He had to make sure that we were aware of what else was happening. He said that once we got home, we had to put her to sleep so that she could some sleep without any pain."

"Will she be okay?" Sakura rubbed her dog's stomach a bit, helping Kaji go even further into darkness.

"Yeah. The doctor said that she'll make a full recovery by the end of the next three weeks."

"I hope so."

Yuka wrapped an arm around her sister's shoulders. "It's almost kind of weird with your scent like ours. I was so used to your scent being a human's that it's gonna take some getting used to."

Sakura smiled at her sister and elbowed her softly in the stomach. "Whatever. You're just mad because now I could probably beat you in wrestling."

"Please, you couldn't beat me before and you wouldn't be able to beat me now."

"You wanna go, Yuka?"

"Yeah, let's take this outside."

"Not tonight, girls," Kakashi said. "Maybe tomorrow after school. But Sakura should get some rest right now. She'll need it for tomorrow."

"What's happening tomorrow?"

"You and I are going to be training while the others are at school. When they get back, we'll show them what you've learned and they'll tell us what they've come up with to make sure that the plan if fool-proof." Everyone in the room nodded. "I'm sure the others heard it anyway. So there's no point in saying it again."

Sakura sighed and stood, grabbing Sasuke's hand. "Yuka-chan, can Kaji sleep in your room tonight?"

"Of course. I don't mind." Itachi mumbled something that no one caught. After saying good night to everyone that was in the room, Sasuke dragged her upstairs into their room. She went into the bathroom and changed into the nightgown that was hanging in the closet. Walking out, she found Sasuke laying on the bed in only his boxers. She couldn't help but admire his defined abs and chest. She just wanted to run her hands over them. No wonder all the girls were always chasing after him.

"You should take a picture. It'll last longer."

She shook her head and glared. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Like I didn't just see you drooling over me."

"I wasn't drooling. I was merely examining." She wiped her fingers across her mouth just to make sure she wasn't.

"Care to examine a little closer?"

She gasped. "Is Sasuke Uchiha trying to seduce me?"

He just rolled his eyes and gave his usual answer. "Hn."

She laughed and threw her dirty clothes in the laundry basket and then went and climbed in bed next to him. "You are really corny when it comes to trying to seduce me."

"Well, I wasn't really trying. If I was really trying, you'd be begging me to take you then and there."

"People should stop complimenting you. You've got too much of an ego."

"Hn."

She swung her leg over his waist and laid her chin down on his chest. "What's with you and your monosyllabic self?"

"Monosyllabic?"

"If you don't know what that is, I'd be extremely shocked."

He rolled his eyes. "I know what it is. I don't see how I'm monosyllabic."

"You give people a one syllable answer most of the time, especially when they ask you a yes or no question. People can't read your mind, Sasuke. You have to tell them what you mean by hn."

"I give you answers."

"Please. It's always whatever or hn. Rarely will you give me a yes or no answer."

"You're being absurd. I give you real answers more than I've given everyone else a real answer combined."

Her eyes widened. "Whoa. That's…wow."

He smirked. "What'd I tell ya?"

She just rolled her eyes. "I have to get painting things again tomorrow. The ones from our house were destroyed. Will you come with me?"

"Hn."

"That just proved my point. You're so…ugh."

"That's exactly why you love me."

Her cheeks turned a delicious shade of red and she looked away from him. "I…I don't know what you're talking about."

"You're so annoying."

"I am not!"

"And you're loud."

She pouted and rolled off him, turning her back to him. She began to fake cry; even letting tears fall because she knew that he wouldn't believe her if he couldn't smell the salty tears. "You're so mean, Sasuke. Why are you so mean to me?"

He grabbed her hand and laced their fingers together. "I was just kidding, Sakura. Kami. You'd think you'd understand when I'm joking or not."

She looked at him over her shoulder. "Really?"

He sighed and nodded. She smiled and kissed him, turning to face him. He laid his hands on her hips and rolled backwards so that she was laying on top of him. She pulled away and began to kiss down his jaw line while grinding her hips against his, feeling a bulge forming in his boxers. She smirked against his skin and began to suck on a spot behind his ear. "I think someone is feeling a little excited."

He groaned and tightened his grip on her waist, pulling her lips back to his. He began to thrust up against her, feeling the heat through her thin panties. He mumbled her name against her lips as he felt a small tightening his balls. She moaned into his mouth, feeling the tip of his erection against her core. She pulled away and ground down hard against it. They continued to thrust against each other, getting closer to their climaxes.

His hands came up and cupped her breasts while her fingers ran deftly over his skin. His fingers pulled, twisted, and popped her pink peaks, her moans filling the air and he loved every sound that she made, savoring them.

"Oh Kami, Sasuke," she breathed. "I'm…so close…" Her fingers slid across his abs and his chest, loving how they ripple under her feathery touch. She leaned forward and suckled softly on his collarbone, not hard enough to leave a mark though.

He slipped a hand under her panties and rubbed her clit, thrusting harder against her core, feeling his orgasm coming quickly. Her hands knotted in his hair and he fused their lips together as she moaned loudly into his mouth as he groaned softly, both of them shaking as their orgasm shot through them. He kissed down her neck as she tried to catch her breath. She rested her head on his shoulder and laid her hands on his shoulders as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I don't want you to leave me alone tomorrow," she whispered.

He smirked against the top of her head. "Time will fly by. Besides, we're going to the mall again to get the paint stuff. Do you still have the list, or do you have to make it again?"

She sighed. "I have to make it again."

He chuckled softly, almost too soft for her to hear, but she could feel the vibrations from his chest. "Get some sleep. You'll definitely need it tomorrow. Kakashi doesn't go easy on the training thing."

"But I'm not sleepy," she yawned.

"Go to sleep, Sak."

"Fine."

* * *

_**And that's the chapter. I'm sorry i took so long to update, but i've been sick and just found that i have some kind of respitory infection. So, i'll try to update soon. So, keep sending me those wonderful reviews and tell me what you think.**_


	12. Chapter 12: Training

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Be-Crash!_

Sasuke wrapped his arms around Sakura, wanting to go back to sleep. She turned around in his arms and snuggled into his chest, not wanting him to leave. "Please don't go. I don't want you to."

"Kakashi isn't going to let me stay."

"I want to go with you then."

"Sakura, you know you can't."

She pouted. He leaned in and kissed her lips gently. "Don't worry; you'll see me after you're done training."

"Alright. But, lay with me just a bit longer. Please?"

"I will."

It was only five seconds before the door burst open and Naruto stormed in. "Teme, it's time to get up and go to school."

Sakura and Sasuke both glared at him. "Naruto, get out!"

"I can't. Kakashi said that I had to come and get Sasuke and if he refused, I could drag him out of here."

Sasuke sighed. "Fine. Get out so I can change."

"You can change in the bathroom."

Sakura pushed Sasuke on his back and locked lips with him. He understood her plan through the kiss and started to go along with it. His hands found her hips and pressed her down against his groin. She moaned and deepened the kiss, twisting their tongues together.

"EW!"

They both looked back and saw that Naruto had fled out of the room and shut the door behind him. They laughed and Sakura rolled away from him onto her back. He pulled her back towards him. "Who said that I was done with you?"

"Sasuke, you should get going before Kakashi decides to come get you himself."

"A couple more minutes is not going to kill us all." He pressed his lips to hers before she could say anything else. His thumb rubbed circles in her hips and she moaned softly. He began to kiss down her jaw and trailed the kisses behind her ear and down her neck, groaning against her skin when she began to massage his scalp.

"Sasuke…" she sighed. She leaned down and nibbled softly on his earlobe and he began to suck on her neck, feeling him self get harder at her ministrations. He rolled so that he was on top of her, rolling his hips against hers as she moaned loudly and thrust her hips against his in rhythm.

He sucked in a breath. "Dammit, Sakura."

The door burst open and both looked back to see Kakashi leaning against the door frame. Sasuke growled at him.

"You can growl all you want, Sasuke. It doesn't scare me. You have to get dressed now or I can keep Sakura from you all day until Sunday. It's your choice."

Sasuke sighed and nuzzled Sakura's neck. "I have to go now, Sak."

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I wish you didn't have to go."

"I know. I'm sorry." He unwrapped her arms from around his neck and got up to get his uniform from the closet and began to change.

Kakashi looked at Sakura. "You should get some more rest. It's 4:30 right now. I'll be waking you up at 6:30 and I'm not going to go easy on you for your training since I know that you know how to use some weapons, like a kunai and a shuriken."

She sighed and nodded, snuggling back into her pillow and wrapping the sheets tightly around her. Sasuke leaned over her and gave her forehead a kiss. "I'll see you later."

She watched him and Kakashi leave the room after Sasuke grabbed his backpack from by the door. The room was engulfed in darkness again and she frowned to herself. It felt lonely in the room without Sasuke or Kaji with her. The door opened again and she saw Itachi standing there. Kaji jumped onto the bed next to her and laid down.

"Thank you for watching her last night, Onii-san."

"You're welcome, imooto. We'll see you after school."

"Okay."

The door closed again and the room was once again pitch black. She ran her hand across Kaji's fur and she got a lick on the cheek. She giggled softly and Kaji nuzzled her cheek with her nose. "Get some sleep, Kaji."

* * *

Sasuke walked down the stairs into the kitchen and dropped his bag by the entryway. Everyone sat around the island, eating something for breakfast, sitting in their white school uniforms. He grabbed a glass from the cupboard and went to the fridge to pour some water in it. Then he went into another cupboard and pulled out two red tablets and dropped them into the water. They fizzed and dissolved quickly, turning the water a dark red.

"You're not going to have breakfast, Sasuke?" Yuka asked.

"Hn." He began to drink the blood water.

"Why is it that you really only have blood for breakfast? You rarely ever sit down and eat breakfast with us."

"Does that bother you?"

"A little." Yuka gave her best puppy dog pout.

He sighed. "You should know by know - with all your failed attempts - that that face never works on me, Yuka." He downed the rest of the drink and put the cup in the sink, grabbing his bag. "I'm leaving."

Everyone looked at each other as they heard the front door slam behind him. Yuka looked at Itachi. "Is there something that I did wrong?"

He shook his head. "You know how he gets around this time of year."

"But he's being grumpier than he usually is," Ino said.

"Maybe there are some more things that are factoring into his moodiness this year," TenTen suggested. "I mean, Sakura was attacked yesterday and he really didn't want to change her into one of us. Also, he does harbor some feelings for her. So, maybe knowing that he couldn't protect her when she was attacked was a low blow to him."

"Maybe. But my sister is fine. So, he shouldn't still be sulking over that. She made it clear that she was fine that she was a vampire and there's obviously no way that he can change her back into a human. Besides, if he could changed her back, it would only mean that she'd be subjected to more vampire attacks since she wouldn't be strong enough to fend for herself against supernatural beings that are quite obviously stronger than her."

Kakashi walked in. "Or, it could be that he just didn't want to leave Sakura's side today. He did refuse to get out of bed this morning."

"You're thinking of this way too simply, Kakashi," Neji said.

"Don't I always? Sure, I understand that what you all said could be the reason why he's extremely moody this year but, for this morning, I think it's just that I'm forcing him to go to school while I keep Sakura here and train her."

"Why is that you always have to piss him off so that he can then take his anger out on me later?" Naruto whined.

* * *

When Sasuke arrived at school, Karin was leaning against a pillar. He ignored her and was just about to pass by her when she grabbed his hand. He turned and glared at her. "What do you want, Karin?" he bit out.

"I wanted to apologize for the way I've been behaving towards Sakura and I was hoping that maybe if you forgave me, we could get back together and you could meet me at my house and we could…" She walked her finger up his chest, purposely not finishing her sentence knowing that he understood what she was implying.

He brushed her hand off him and gave his usual "Hn," before continuing on inside the school. She stood there with her mouth agape before shaking her head and running after him. "Wait, Sasuke-kun. You never gave me an answer. Was that a yes?"

He continued on, trying his best to ignore her and get on his way. But he should've remembered that she wouldn't leave him alone until he gave her a solid answer.

"Sasuke-kun!" she whined.

He spun around, his eyes flashing red for moment. "What do you want, woman?"

"I want you to come over to my house tonight so that we can have some fun. I'm sorry for treating that pink-haired girl so badly. But I was afraid she'd steal you from me. Please come with me tonight." She tugged on his free hand.

"I have things to do that obviously don't include you." He snatched his hand back and turned around to head towards his locker. "Go bother Suigetsu. I know how much you two love being around each other."

"I don't love Suigetsu. I love you, Sasuke-kun."

"The feeling is not mutual, Karin. Find someone else that's willing to be with you because you and I are over." He walked down the hall, leaving behind a shocked and heartbroken Karin.

She shook her head and turned around, storming out of the school as she shoved everyone out of her way. She knew exactly why Sasuke didn't want to take her back. _It's because of that Sakura girl. If she hadn't come along, I wouldn't be in this predicament right now. I'd have Sasuke all over me and he'd come over to my house after school._

She got into her red Mustang and put the car in drive, speeding out of the parking lot and onto the streets. She was heading towards Tsunade's house, so that she could give that girl a piece of her mind. More like a piece of her fist.

* * *

"Can we please take a break? I'm beat, Kakashi."

"No. Now, come at me again and you have to fake your movements well enough so that you can catch me off guard."

"But if you know that I'm going to fake my movements, I can't catch you off guard, especially with your Sharingan activated."

"Not if you know exactly how to do it. Just give it a try."

"Oh, come on. We've been at this at least twenty times. I doubt I'm going to get anywhere if you keep knowing where I'm going to be when I'm obviously trying my hardest to catch you off guard. This isn't helping."

"If you use another tactic, you can land a hit on me."

She sighed and wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand, standing up straight. "Alright. If I can land at least one hit on you, I get a ten minute break. If I can't, you come up with something."

He shrugged and watched her with his red right eye and black left eye. "Fair enough."

She took a deep breath before running straight for him. He smirked behind his mask and went to grab her fist, but she disappeared before he could do anything. He moved to the right just as she tried to kick him from behind, grabbing her by the ankle and throwing her to the ground. She cried out and then disappeared with a 'poof' of smoke. His eyes widened as the clone disappeared.

Something rammed into him from behind and as he rolled onto his back to get up, Sakura was already on top of him with a kunai pressed against his throat, her legs on either side of his waist and a hand pressed down firmly against his shoulder. She grinned down at him. "I got a hit. I get a ten minute break."

He smiled behind his mask. "Well, you did get a hit on me, so I guess I can give you a break."

"Yes!" She got up and dashed inside to get a bottle of water out of the fridge. She chugged down half the bottle, just standing there in front of the fridge. Kaji came trotting into the kitchen and barked at her.

"What? Are you hungry?"

She barked again and got up on her hind legs, putting her front paws against Sakura's stomach. "Alright, I'll feed you." She went to the pantry and got out the bag of dog food and poured some into her food bowl. While Kaji ate her food, she went into the living to lay down on the couch. The doorbell suddenly rang and as she got up to get it, a scent suddenly hit her nose.

Kakashi walked by her and told her to stay there while he went to answer the door. As he looked through the peep hole, he saw a very angry Karin standing on the front step. He figured that either Sasuke refused to go out with her or he told her that he and Sakura were together. He hoped for now that it was the first one. He opened the door just enough that she could only see him. "What can I help you with, Karin?"

"Is that pink headed bitch here?"

"Well, that pink-headed bitch does not appear to be here right now. In fact, it just so happens that she left to go to the mall not to long ago. I do believe she said something about going to get some painting supplies for something that she wanted to do. I'm sure if you leave now you'll catch up to her."

She sniffed the scents that were around the house, making sure he wasn't lying. She only smelt the dog's scent and another vampire, besides Kakashi. She smirked at him. "Thanks for the info, old man." She turned and ran back towards her car as Kakashi closed the door behind her. Sakura sat on the steps of the staircase.

"Why was she looking for me?"

"It was probably because Sasuke either declined her offer getting back together with her or, he told her that he was with you."

"Which do you think he told her?"

"Probably the first one, but I wouldn't be surprised if he told her the latter."

She sighed. "I know its wrong to wish death upon people, but vampires don't count because they're already dead and I really wish the Karin would just die or fall off the face the Earth or _something_. She's really beginning to piss me off. I don't do anything and she just blames everything that happens between her and Sasuke on me. Like when he broke up with her or like today. I wasn't even there at school today."

"You never know what goes on through her head. I'm just glad that he's done with her and I'm glad that you're much more modest than her."

She frowned. "Wow, now I'm really glad that I was able to be here. Can we go back to training now? I'm ready to start using some weapons instead of my fists."

Kakashi gulped. "As long as you don't vent any of your anger on me and not cut anything of mine off, I'll be happy to let you use some weapons."

She smiled. "Kakashi, I would never cut anything of any value of yours off. What gives you the idea that I would?"

As she walked towards the back door, he cupped himself nervously. "Nothing at all."

* * *

Sasuke, Itachi, and Yuka were sitting in their art class when the door opened and Karin stormed in, sitting on the opposite side of the room as far away from them as possible. Yuka and Itachi shared confused glances before looking at Sasuke, who had completely ignored the whole scene.

Yuka leaned over. "Sasuke, did you say something to Karin?"

"Why?"

"Because she wasn't here for the first half of the day and then she just suddenly appears out of nowhere."

"She wanted me to go back out with her and then go over to her house after school, but I declined. Why should I care if she wasn't here during the day?"

She hit him in the back of the head. "You idiot! She could've gone after Sakura."

"It doesn't seem like they got in a fight or anything," Itachi observed, not seeing any scratches or anything on Karin. "Knowing her, she'd try to keep the cuts and/or bruises she acquired as long as possible to get Sakura in as much trouble as she could."

"That's true." Yuka pondered something for a minute. "I'll have to talk to Kakashi after school to ask to him about it. Maybe she didn't even head over that way. She could've just gone somewhere to cry or something like that."

"I don't see why you're so interested in Karin all of a sudden," Sasuke muttered, still rubbing the sore spot on the back of his head. "There's nothing interesting about her."

Yuka smirked and leaned over Itachi's lap. "But you obviously find something interesting about my sister. Otherwise, you wouldn't have put up such a fight this morning to leave her side, nor would you have been sleeping in the same bed as her."

He just glared at her while his cheeks tinged pink a bit. "Whatever."

"Don't be mad because you know it's true. I don't mind you being with my sister. Just like you don't me being with your brother."

'I could really care less about his love life."

"Oh, quit being all stingy, Sasuke. We all know you don't like Christmas time, but cheer up a little. This year is probably going to be better than it has been before. Instead of Karin being here, we have Sakura and Kaji."

"Hn."

She sighed and sat up. "Just quit being the fucking Grinch and ruining Christmas for everyone like you do every year. It's starting to get old, Uchiha."

"Whatever."

* * *

"Sakura, for once I'm gonna have to ask you to slow down for me. I'm an old man and though it may seem like I can keep up with you, I can't. I really don't want you to castrate me with your swords."

"Why do keep thinking that I'm going to castrate you? Just because Karin was here and pissed me off doesn't mean I'm going to take my anger out on you. But I will slow down just a bit for you, old man."

"At least I was willing to admit that I'm getting old."

"Even though we all know you're never going to age."

He smiled behind his mask. "Of course. Just like you're going to stay twenty years old for the rest of eternity."

She gripped the swords in her hands tighter and waited for him to attack. He took out two giant kunais and ran towards her. Their weapons clashed and the squeal of the metal grinding against each other made their ears ring. She kicked her leg out and pushed him back. She quickly sheathed the swords that were strapped to her back and punched the ground. He jumped backwards away from the crumbling earth. Right before he landed, she appeared behind him with a boulder in her hands. She threw it down on top of him, crushing him.

She heard a poof and felt the sharp edge of kunai pressed against her throat. "You really thought that I was fighting you?"

"I can see why everyone hates training with you. You keep using clones to do the work for you."

"It's not that they're doing the work for me, it's called strategy. I know how to win a battle my way and you know how to win a battle your way."

She sighed. "When are the others getting back? I'm tired of training now."

"I have one more thing for you to do."

"What's that?"

He removed the weapon from her neck and put it in his kunai holster strapped to his leg. He pulled out two silver bells from his back pocket and held them out at arms length. "I want you to try and take these bells from me."

"Are you kidding me?" He raised a silver eyebrow. She sighed. "You've got to joking." She went to take them from him but he snatched his hand back and she looked at him confused.

"Not so fast." He tied the two bells to his belt loop. "I want you to try and take them from me, but I'll obviously be putting up a fight to make sure you don't get them."

"Why do you want me to try and take some stupid bells from you?"

"To see how well you've paid attention to your training today. But, because I know you've had some training before, I'm not going to go easy on you."

"Fine. How long do I have?"

"Until the others get home."

"I think I can do that."

"Don't get your hopes up."

"You're very encouraging."

* * *

The bells jingled against each other as Kakashi jumped around, dodging all her attacks and her attempts to get the bells. He wasn't paying attention and didn't the shadow shuriken aimed for his belt loop. It cut one of the bells off and Sakura was quick to catch it, only to see that Kakashi was really a log and the bell in her palm was really just a bud from the log. She growled in frustration and threw the bud on the ground. "Dammit, Kakashi! Why don't you just fight me instead of having your clones do the work for you?!"

"Is Kakashi pissing you off?"

She spun around to see the rest of the group standing there watching her with smirked or smiles on their faces. She growled. "Don't remind me."

"Don't be distracted, Sakura."

She barely deflected the ten kunais and shurikens that were thrown her way. She growled again as they all fell to the ground and saw Kakashi standing thirty meters away from her. "I'm not going to fight you full on if you're just another clone."

"I could say the same for you."

Another Kakashi clone appeared behind her and stabbed her in the back. She cried out and then disappeared in a puff of smoke. He looked around, his Sharingan eye scanning the trees surround them, trying to find the pink-haired girl. Sakura sat up in a tree, completely hidden by the branches and leaves. She knew what she could do. She did a couple of hand signs.

Kakashi saw Sakura jump out from one of the trees with her sword ready to strike. He threw a shuriken at her and she 'poof-ed' away. Another Sakura ran up to him swung the sword at him, but he dodged it and punched her in the stomach. That one disappeared as well.

"You're not getting anywhere if you keep using clones to fight for you. Sooner or later, you're going to run out of chakra to use for later attacks."

She jumped out of the tree with a kunai in hand instead of her swords. He threw a kunai at her, thinking that it was a clone. When he didn't hear the poof, he realized that it was the real thing. Her hair flew out of its tie as the weapon flew past her and she tackled him to the ground. He pinned her down with her own kunai pointed at her throat. "You fail."

"You'd like to think so, wouldn't you?" She opened her fist and there sat the two silver bells that were supposed to be tied to his waist. His eyes widened.

"When did you get those?"

She shrugged. "I just got lucky I guess."

He sighed and stood, helping her to her feet. Naruto ran up to her and pulled her into a giant bear hug. "Sakura-chan, you're so awesome! You're like the only one that's ever gotten the bells from him on their first try."

"Naruto…" she gasped. "Can't…breathe…"

"Oh, sorry, Sakura-chan." He set her down on her feet as Sasuke walked over to them and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

She smiled up at him. "Can we go to the mall now?"

"If you go freshen up first."

She blushed. "Oh, right. Sorry." She quickly scurried past everyone and ran up the stairs with Kaji trailing behind her into her room.

* * *

After taking a quick shower and after hearing what the plan might be along with the congratulations for besting Kakashi and his stupid bell test, Sasuke and Sakura headed over to the mall to get the things that she needed. And just like last time, they were sitting down at a table while Sakura remade the list.

_N.U. – Nine-Tailed Fox__  
S.N. – Clouds__  
N.H. – Scattered Books__  
S.U. –  
I.U. – Red Clouds on a Black Base  
K.H. – Make-Out Paradise Cover  
S. – Artist Utensils  
J. – Make-Out Paradise Books_

_I.Y. – Bouquets of flowers  
H.H. – Medicinal Herbs  
T.T. – Weapons  
T.S. – Giant fan w/ Three Purple Dots on Blade  
Y.H. – Baskets of Different Fruits  
T. – Bottles of Sake_

"You still skipped my name and even added Jiraiya to the list."

"Sasuke, I already told you before that I'm not going to put what I'm going to paint you on the list. I already know what it is. And Jiraiya is my uncle. He deserves something too even though he's an old, pervy uncle."

"Well what is it?"

"Don't even try it. I already knew you were going to do that. I'm not going to tell you."

"Not even if I begged?"

"You don't beg."

"Good point."

She laughed and stood, grabbing his hand. "Come on. Let's go ahead and get the things I need."

He sighed and walked beside her, hand in hand. They went to the same store and got the same things as last time. But this time, Sasuke didn't walk off to go buy something. As they walked out, he asked, "Do you need anything else before you go running off on me again like last time?"

"Yeah, I need to get the toys that I need to get for Kaji."

"Alright, let's head over there."

Just as they passed the food court, they heard someone calling Sasuke's name. They turned around to find Karin running towards them. Sakura cringed slightly and hid behind Sasuke just as Karin stopped in front of them. "Sasuke-kun, there you are! I didn't expect to see you here."

He scowled. "What do you want?"

She giggled. "What else, silly? I'm giving you a second chance to say yes to me so that we can go back to my place and have some fun."

"No."

Her smile fell. "What?"

"I don't repeat myself."

"But, Sasuke-kun–"

"Go away, Karin, before I decide to punch you in the face." He turned around and wrapped his arm around Sakura's waist, leading her away from the obnoxious red head.

"What's so special about her?" Karin called after them.

"It's none of your business, Karin."

She suddenly appeared in front of them. "It is too my business. She stole you from me and you and I are supposed to be together." She went to grab Sakura by the collar, but Sasuke grabbed her by the wrist in a death grip.

"Don't touch her," he hissed.

Karin glared at Sakura. "You bitch!"

Sakura just looked away, trying her hardest not to remember the times when her father would call her names like that and beat her.

"Karin, I want you to leave _now_," Sasuke seethed. "If I find you anywhere near to me or Sakura again, I will kill you."

She jerked her hand back and rubbed her wrist. "You'll regret this, Sasuke. I'll make sure of it."

"I highly doubt that."

She stormed away from the couple. Sasuke looked down at Sakura to find her turned away from him and her shoulders trembling. "Sakura?" But she didn't respond. He turned her around and lifted her chin up to find her crying. "Sak, why are you crying?"

She tried to wipe her tears away. "She reminded me too much of my father when he'd call me a bitch or something like that and I hadn't even done anything. My father used to scare me so much after Yuka left."

He pulled her in his arms, laying his chin on top of her head. "Shh. It's okay. She won't bother us anymore, alright?" He felt her nod. "Do you still want to go get the things for Kaji?"

She shook her head.

"Alright. Come on. Let's go ahead and head back home."

She nodded. He picked up all the bags in one hand and she held onto the other as he led her back towards the parking lot.


	13. Chapter 13: Presents

Saturday night rolled around; Christmas Eve. They had just finished putting up the Christmas tree and decorating it. Sasuke had refused to help decorate it and just stormed out of the room, to some place unknown to everyone else. That's when Sakura asked Itachi what was up with him. They just told her that he hated Christmas and he'd probably tell her more about it later. When Sasuke returned some time after, when everyone was cleaning up and putting things away, Sakura was asleep on the couch with Kaji curled up under her legs. Tsunade smiled at the pair and told Sasuke that he should take her upstairs. He nodded and slipped his arms under her knees and behind her back. As he lifted her, Kaji lifted her head, giving him a soft bark.

"Come on, let's head upstairs."

When he started to ascend the stairs, Sakura stirred in his arms, fluttering her eyes open. "Sasuke?"

"Go back to sleep. I'm just taking you upstairs."

"But I have to put everyone's gift under the tree."

"You can do that in the morning when you wake up. For now, I have to put to you to bed. Besides, Naruto's going to wake us up pretty early in the morning to open presents."

She giggled. "I bet you're going to yell at him to leave us alone."

"I do it every year."

She frowned. "Yuka said that you hate Christmas time. How come?"

He sighed. "I'll tell you tomorrow after dinner when we're explaining the reason why we became what we are. You're going to have to tell us how Orochimaru got you that day."

She nodded, closing her eyes. He laid her gently on the bed and closed the door. Kaji was already curled up in her bed. He gave her head a couple pats before climbing in bed next to Sakura. He pulled her into his arms and she snuggled into his chest. He buried his face in her hair and inhaled her scent before drifting to sleep.

The next morning, Naruto tip-toed to Sasuke and Sakura's room, silently turning the door knob and opening the door. He knew that Sasuke hated it when he did this, but he was going to do it this year especially because Sakura and Kaji were here. He saw them cuddled up together under the sheets and grinned to himself. He ran and jumped on the bed.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!"

The two groaned. "Naruto!"

"Get up! We have to open presents now. Come on. Come on." He was suddenly knocked on the floor, a bruise already forming on the side of his head. Sasuke grumbled something under his breath as he laid back down.

"Teme, that hurt! You didn't have to punch me!"

"Yes I did. You wouldn't shut up. Now go bother someone else, dobe."

"But you have to get up for presents."

"Naruto," he growled through clenched teeth. Since Naruto knew that Sasuke only called him by him name when he was truly angry, he took that as the warning to leave and scampered out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

"You didn't have to be so mean to him," Sakura said as he wrapped his arms around her.

"He does this every year, even as a human he did it and I don't even know how he got in my house those mornings."

"You guys knew each other as humans?"

He nodded. "I'll tell you about it later, okay?"

She nodded and sat up stretching. "I can't go back to sleep now. Might as well get my presents under the tree."

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back down to him. "You're not going anywhere," he mumbled against her skin. He kissed her passionately as he pushed her shirt up and unbuttoned her pants, slipped his hands under the hem of her panties. His finger teased her already wet lips before slipping a finger inside of her core. She moaned and arched her back off the bed, gasping his name.

He slowly thrust his finger in and out of her while she kept a death grip on his hair. With his free hand, he pulled her shirt over her head and quickly latched onto one of her breasts. She moaned louder as he bit down softly on the sensitive bud. He switched to the other one and gave it the same attention.

Her hips thrust back against his hand as she got closer to her peak and he added two more fingers, stretching her a little more. "Oh, Kami…Sas…so close…yes…"

"That's right, Sak. I want you to scream my name as you cum in my hands," he whispered huskily in her ear. That sent her over the edge. Her toes curled and her back arched as she came in his hand, calling his name and gripping his hair tighter.

When she relaxed and tried to catch her breath, he removed his fingers from her core and licked them clean. Just watching him made her wet again. "You taste delicious, Sakura." She moaned and buried her face in his shirt, trying to hide her red face. "You find something wrong?" he asked, teasing her.

She shook her head. When she felt something hard pressing against her stomach, she knew exactly how to get him back. She slowly slipped a hand down his chest and into his boxers. He jumped when he felt her grab his prominent erection and he tried to stifle his groan, but she still heard it as he thrust into her hand. "Sakura…you don't have to…do this…"

"But I want to." She looked up at him with innocent eyes. He groaned again when she tighten her hold a bit and began to run her fist up and down his length, rubbing her thumb against the head. She pushed him onto his back and sat on his thighs, pulling his boxers down. Her other hand cupped his balls and gave a quick squeeze before rolling them around in her hand.

"Fuck!" His eyes rolled to the back of his head as he continued to thrust into her hand.

She bit her lips as a thought crossed her mind and she hoped that Sasuke would like what she was about to do. She leaned down and gave his head a small lick. His hips jerked violently as she slowly engulfed him and swirled her tongue around him as she bobbed up and down. His hands gently gripped her hair, urging her on.

"Sak…Kami…"

She pressed her tongue into the tiny slit and he roared her name in pleasure as he came in her mouth. She moaned as she drank his seed. As he tried to control his breathing, she crawled up his chest and laid down on him.

He wrapped his arms around her waist. "You should go put your presents under the tree now. I think we've waited long enough."

She gave a nod before get up and putting her shirt back on and a pair of shorts. She grabbed a huge white box that was in the closet and carried it downstairs into the living room where she saw Naruto sitting in front of the tree bouncing around and Hinata sitting on the couch. She smiled up at Sakura. "Ohayo, Sakura-san."

"Ohayo, Hinata-chan. Naruto, you really should relax. Everybody else probably won't be down for another thirty minutes or something like that." She set the box down beside the tree. Naruto jumped up and nearly knocked her out of the way.

"What's in here, Sakura-chan? Who's it for? Can I open it?"

"No, you can't open it and it's for everyone so you're just going to have to wait until everyone else is down here, understand?" He nodded. "If I find that you opened it before, you won't get your present from me."

He made a sad face and nodded. She walked out of the living room and went into the kitchen, grabbing the coffee maker and pouring four cups of ground coffee beans into it. She poured some cold water into it and then turned it on, waiting for it to start brewing. She went to a cupboard and pulled out various mugs, memorizing who's belonged to whom.

Shikamaru was the first to come down. "Ohayo," he yawned.

"Ohayo, Shikamaru. Did you sleep well?"

"Sure."

The coffee maker went off and she began to pour the brewed coffee into everyone's mug, excluding Naruto's. She knew that if she gave him coffee he'd be even more hyper than everyone wanted him to be. Shikamaru thanked her before starting to make his own cup. The smell of coffee wafting through the house attracted everyone else to come downstairs, including Kaji. Naruto rushed into the kitchen only to find that all the coffee was gone. He pouted at Sakura. "How come I don't get any?"

"Because you're already hyper enough as it is and nobody wants you to destroy the house with you bouncing off the walls," Tsunade said as she sipped her drink.

"Maybe I'll brew some more for breakfast after we open presents," Sakura suggested.

He grinned. "Thanks, Sakura-chan. Can we go open presents now? Please?"

Sakura looked at her aunt and she shrugged. "I don't see why not? As long he doesn't go skyrocketing through the roof, its fine with me."

Naruto cheered as he raced into the living room, with everyone taking their time getting there. Naruto opted to let Sakura pass out her gift to everyone first but she quickly declined, saying that her presents probably weren't going to be that special anyway.

"I don't see how they wouldn't be special. I'm sure no one will find anything wrong with your presents," Temari assured.

"I probably could," Sai said, giving her a fake smile.

She gave a harsh laugh directed towards Sai. "I already know that you would find something wrong with my gift to you and everyone else, so don't rub it in."

"Well, we're not going to pass out any gifts until you pass yours out first," Ino said. Naruto looked saddened by this, but agreed none the less.

"Imooto, remember what I told you: No one's going to get angry at you for what you gave them."

She gave a shy nod before opening the box and taking out the first painting, handing it to Naruto. He scanned the picture before realizing that it was a painting of the Nine-Tailed Fox. He looked up at her, confused.

"I drew paintings that remind me of everyone. I really hoped you like it, Naruto."

He smiled at her and hugged her tightly. "Of course I like it, Sakura-chan. Thank you."

She smiled at him and began to pass out everybody else's. Sai didn't even make a smart remark about what she did for him. When she reached the last one, she almost didn't want to give it away. Sasuke gave her an expectant look. "How come I don't get one?"

"You do, it's just…well I'm worried that you won't like it."

"Just give it to me, Sakura."

She stood and handed him the painted canvas. He looked over it and studied it. He saw what looked like his Kusanagi partly out of the sheath with his clan symbol on the hilt of it. Wrapped around the sword was a brown cobra snake with red eyes, exactly like his Sharingan. He looked up at her as she bit her bottom lip as a nervous habit.

"If you don't like it I understand."

He set the painting down and stood, pulling her in his arms as he kissed her senseless. "You doubt yourself too much. Thank you for the present."

She smiled at him as she hugged him around the waist. "I'm glad that you like it."

Naruto jumped up to his feet. "Alright, now that Sakura's done with her gifts can we pass out the rest of the gifts now? I want to start opening the other gifts. Please?"

Everyone sighed and agreed. He cheered and began gathering gifts up, giving them to the people they were meant for. Wrapping paper was thrown all over the room as everyone opened their gifts. It was going to be a big mess to clean up.

* * *

"But Sakura-chan, you promised."

"I know but since you kept bothering everyone to come downstairs, you have to clean up all the wrapping paper." She and Kaji were in the kitchen starting to make breakfast. Sasuke leaned against the counter next to her as she handed Naruto a trash bag. "I want you to put all the wrapping paper in here and then put it out in the garage with all the other trash. Think you can do that for me?"

He gave her a salute. "Of course I can. Then you better make me some coffee."

"She's not your slave, dobe."

"I know that. I never said that she was though. She promised me some coffee after we opened presents."

"Naruto, just go do what I asked you to do and quit arguing."

He grumbled something before sulking out of the kitchen. Sakura turned back to the stove and began to cook the eggs. "Why are you two always fighting?"

"Because we piss each other off?"

"Does it really entertain the both of you?"

He shrugged. "It's something to do when I'm bored."

She glared at him. "Well, excuse me for not being able to entertain you enough. I'm sorry you find me so boring."

He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, laying his chin on her shoulder. "You are extremely sensitive. I meant when you're not around."

She huffed at him before continuing on with her cooking. Kaji came up to her with a bottle of ground pepper between her teeth. Sakura thanked her and took it from her, sprinkling some over the scrambled eggs. Kaji took it back and put it where it belonged in the cabinet. Sakura wiggled out of his arms and went to go get some plates to go put on the table. She called to him to close the cupboard door as she walked into the dinning room. He did as he was told and reached into his pocket, pulling out something and setting it on the counter next to the stove before disappearing from the room. Sakura walked back in to find the it was only Kaji in there. She only shrugged before going back to stove and dishing the eggs onto a plate. Just as she was about to leave, she noticed the black velvet box.

Looking around, she thought that someone was still in here, but found no scents in the room. She opened the lid of the box, just to take a peek and try to figure out who it belonged to. She gasped as she saw what was in it. A necklace with a pink sakura blossom on it sat in the tiny box. She carefully took it out of the box and held it up for her to get a better look. "It's so beautiful," she whispered.

"I was hoping you'd like it."

She spun around to find Sasuke standing behind her, his cheeks tinged a dark pink. She smiled up at him before pressed her lips against his. "Thank you. I love it." She turned and held the clasps up behind her neck. "Can you put it on for me?"

He took the ends and clasped them together as she held her hair up. She fingered it for a moment before grabbing the plate of eggs and the other plate of hash browns that she'd done earlier and took them into the dinning room, setting them down next to the pancakes, ham, and pitcher of orange juice.

"Breakfast everyone!" she called. Immediately, everyone came running into the room, sitting down in their seats. The last person to come in was Naruto. "Did you clean up _all_ the wrapping paper?"

He nodded eagerly, grinning from ear to ear. "You better believe that I did. Do I get my coffee now?"

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Fine." She set the mug down in front of him. As soon as she sat down, everyone began to dig into the food on the table.

* * *

Karin sat crossed legged against a tree, looking up at the baby blue sky and watching the puffy white cloudy roll by in front of the shining sun. She frowned. She hated nice peaceful days like this. She was sitting alone in a deserted park as she tried to avoid thinking of Sasuke and him being with Sakura. She thought that a little nice air would do her some good, but it only succeeded in her thinking more about the unwanted subject and she couldn't stand it. It made her angry and completely miserable.

She sighed. There was no point in her sitting around mopping while Sakura could be forcing herself on her beloved Sasuke. She had to win him back. She knew that when they went back to school the next day, she would trash the pink-haired girl. She deserved to be humiliated and that would show Sasuke just how much better she was than Sakura. _Oh, yeah. I know just what to do._

A dark shadow blocked her view of the sun and she scowled, deeply. "Could you please move your ass out of the way? You're blocking my view."

"I'm sorry. I just couldn't help but notice you sitting here alone. I thought I'd come over and make sure you were okay."

She huffed and crossed her arms, looking away from the man as he sat down next to her. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, thank you."

He chuckled. "Do forgive me then. I didn't mean to upset you. It's just that I was attracted by your astounding beauty. I couldn't help but make sure that no one had upset you in any way."

She blushed and looked at him from the corner of her eyes. "I am fine. Thank you for your concern."

He flashed a smile and slowly reached for her hand, engulfing it in his calloused ones. "Listen, I kind of don't want to leave you here alone. How about I take you for some lunch and I could walk you home afterwards?"

"Are you asking me on a date?"

He smiled again, this time flashing his fangs. "I could be. It depends if you want it to be a date. I'll only call it a date if you want it to be. But I do want to know more about you."

She thought it over. Breaking up Sakura and Sasuke could wait until later. Right now, she had someone that was willing to be nice to her and find out more about her. Something Sasuke was not interested in doing. Maybe, if things could go farther with this guy, she could forget about Sasuke. But did she really want to forget about the first man she loved? "Alright, we'll call it a date."

He stood and pulled her to her feet. "Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go get some lunch. But you have to tell me what you want to eat."

"Could we hunt?"

He hummed. "That wouldn't be a good choice. How would I get to know you better if you're sucking some deer dry of its blood?"

She laughed and he just smiled, watching her face as she laughed.

"How about…some pizza?" he suggested.

"That'd be great. We're taking my Mustang."

He sighed in relief. "I was actually hoping that you had a car. I didn't really feel like walking."

She held up her keys and jingled them. "I'm driving. I know the best pizza place in this entire town."

"Well, lead the way." As they climbed into the car he asked, "What's your name by the way?"

"Karin. What's yours?"

* * *

_**Ok, i know its a short chapter but this chapter is kinda important. i'll update sooner with the stories of why everyone was changed into a vampire. hopefully they'll be as good as i hope they'll be. by the way, i have been getting better, so my mind isn't as fogged up before. keep sending in your wondeful reviews. =**_**]**


	14. Chapter 14: Transformation

Everyone had just finished eating dinner when Sakura offered to make ice cream for everyone, but Tsunade just shoved her out of the kitchen. "You've been making food for everyone all day. You need to take a break and you're not making breakfast for everyone in the morning either."

She just pouted and headed into the living room where she found everyone else lounging around with their significant other. She went to Sasuke's side and he pulled her into his lap. She gave his lips a quick kiss before snuggling into his embrace. Ten minutes later, Tsunade walked in carrying a tray full of bowls with ice cream in them. Everyone grabbed a bowl and spoon before settling down, feeling nervous because they all knew what was going to happen next.

Kakashi spoke up. "Sakura, do you want to go first or do want someone else to go first?"

She gulped, feeling like her heart should be racing, but it wasn't. "I'll go first."

He nodded and everyone turned to look at her. She kept her eyes training on the empty bowl nestled in her lap. "Well, first off, everyone should know that after Yuka had disappeared that one day, my parents hated me. They forced me to do every chore around the house and nothing I did could satisfy them. My father used to call be names and would beat me every night because they blamed me for Yuka's disappearance. I never had any friends at school because they wanted me to be just like her and I was constantly ridiculed at school. It didn't bother me though because I was never really one to care about what they said. That day, everything was going as it usually would. I woke up and took my morning shower and then went downstairs to feed Kaji. My father came downstairs and beat me. Then he told me what I had to do, which was clean then entire house and make breakfast for the two of them since I was never allowed to eat breakfast on the weekends."

_ Sakura set the plates of food on the table in front of her parents with Kaji following close behind her. She stood to the side as she waited for them to say something about her cooking. They said that the food was edible enough and she went to start her chores. She tied her lank, pink hair in a hair tie and went out back to start cleaning the shrine._

_ After making sure everything was practically sparkling clean, she headed back inside with Kaji still following her. As she entered the house she headed towards the living room to get started on dusting everything. That's when she stopped in her tracks. Her mother was standing in front of the door, talking with two men. One had short white hair with black-rimmed glasses and the other had long black hair down to his waist with shining amber eyes and an extremely pale complexion. She wondered what they wanted and walked up beside her mother. "Is there something wrong, Kaa-san?"  
_

_"They're looking for you, Sakura." Her mother glared at her. "Do you know what for?"  
_

_She shook her head. "I don't know who these people are."_

_ Her mother slapped her. "Don't lie to me. Who the fuck are these people and what do they want with you?!"  
_

_The pale skinned one suddenly grabbed her by the elbow and dragged her out of the house. Kaji ran up to them and tackled the black-haired one. The one with the black-rimmed glasses threw the dog off him. Sakura knew that she wouldn't be safe in her house and took off down the streets. She didn't know if her parents were going to call the police to save her but she could only hope that her parents cared about her enough to do so._

She stopped and everyone expected her to go on, but she didn't. "You guys already know what happened after that."

Sasuke wiped away her tears and pulled her against his chest and her body trembled. It pained her to remember how cruel her parents were to her and what Orochimaru had done to her. She didn't know why Sasuke wanted her when she had obviously been raped. She always felt like she had to scrub her skin ruthlessly just to get some of the feeling of his disgusting touch off her skin.

Yuka closed her eyes and leaned back against Itachi. "I'm so sorry, imooto. If I'd know that was how they were going to treat you…I would've come back to taken you with me."

Sakura shook her head and mumbled something. "She said that it isn't your fault and she doesn't blame you for their behavior."

Yuka smiled a bit. "Thank you." She sighed. "The night that I left, I had told my parents that I was going to go hang with some of my friends from school. They said that it was alright and after I said bye to them, Sakura and Kaji, I drove my car towards this abandoned gas station that was right across from the forest."

_ Yuka pulled up to the old gas station and climbed out, shoving her keys in her pockets. Her friends called her over and she saw that she had bottles of sake and beer surrounding them. A boy with short and spiky black hair with deep ocean blue eyes pulled her into his arms and kissed her. "I'm glad that your parents let you come, Yuka-chan."  
_

_"I knew they would, Kei-kun."_

_ He smirked and gave her another kiss before letting her go and grabbing two bottles of beer. After that, they began to drink and chat. One of their friends pulled out a bag of crack and soon everyone began to pass it around. Yuka only did it once since she was already intoxicated enough. A couple of her friends pulled out cigarettes and lit them. But she was too drunk to scold them that they could get cancer and die._

_ She looked at the time and realized that she had to head home, but everyone was way too drunk and no one would be able to drive without them putting everyone's lives in danger._

_ Kei grabbed her around the waist and pulled her towards him so that she straddled him. "Oh come on, Yuka-chan," he slurred. "Don't leave. We were having fun."  
_

_"Kei-kun, I have to go home. Let go of me."_

_He frowned and gripped her arms. "Do you have someone waiting for you back home?"  
_

_"No, what are you talking about? I'm not cheating on you."  
_

_"Don't lie to me, Yuka."  
_

_"Kei, let me go!" None of their friends were going to help her and she felt helpless when he flipped them around and pinned her down to the hood of the car. He grabbed her breasts roughly and she cried out in pain. "Kei, stop it!"  
_

_He leaned in close to her face and breathed, "I know you like this, Yuka-chan. I'm the only one that can touch you like this, right?" He pressed his erection against her core._

_ She tried to push him off, but he wouldn't budge. "Kei, please, I'm begging you."_

_ He smirked in his drunken stupor. "Well, if you really want it." He popped the button of her pants and pulled the zipper down. He was just about to pull her pants down when he heard, "I do believe the woman asked you let go of her."_

_ He turned around and glared at the man that was leaning against Yuka's car. Everyone else glared at the intruder. "Who the hell are you?"  
_

_"That's none of your business, is it?" He was gone and Kei suddenly felt pain in his neck. Yuka only stared through her drunken haze as Kei let out a strangled cry and felt to the ground, a gash on his throat. Yuka screamed at the scene and looked up to find everyone else dead as well. She made a mad dash for her car, but tripped over one of the bodies._

_ She felt someone pick her up and push against the car, hard. She cried out in pain as she felt the glass crack under her weight. Just as she opened her eyes, she screamed as the person bit her in the neck. She fingers clutched the back of his shirt as she tried to pull him away. She saw his hand come up and he pried her lips open with his fingers and shoved two fingers in her mouth._

_ "Drink my blood," his voice commanded against her neck._

_ She did as she was told and drank, feeling him groan against her neck and bite her again. She whimpered pitifully when she felt dull burns begin to course through her veins. She fell limp against the man's body and he picked her up bridal-style in his arms as she closed her eyes. She tried to see his face, but her vision was too blurred and she couldn't stop her body from convulsing as blackness edged her vision._

_ When she awoke, she was in the middle of a forest. There was a sharp burning in the back of her neck and she didn't know what was going on. She looked at her hand and saw claws. Her tongue touched her canine teeth and felt sharp fangs prick her tongue, drawing blood._

"I attacked two humans before Itachi found me, kneeling over the corpses. He brought me back here where Kakashi, Sasuke, and Naruto were. Now that I think about it, I think Ichino may have been the one that changed me."

Sakura rose from Sasuke's lap and went over to her sister, collapsing to her knees next to her. They embraced each other tightly. "I'm so sorry, Yuka-chan."

"Thank you, Sakura-chan."

They pulled away and gave each other a kiss on the cheek before Sakura stood and went back to sit in Sasuke's lap. He sighed. "Itachi, you can start."

He nodded. "The Uchiha family and the Uzamaki family were close friends. Every Christmas morning Naruto and his parents would come over to our house or we'd go over to theirs. The Uchiha's were a big family and we were given a villa in the town that we lived in. So, big holidays like Christmas and New Year's and all that were pretty noisy. One Christmas though, everything went wrong the morning that Sasuke woke up." Sasuke took over after that.

_ A twenty-one year old Sasuke awoke surprised that his annoying next door neighbor hadn't somehow gotten into his house and jumped on him since this morning was Christmas. He climbed out of bed and went into the bathroom to take a quick shower. After, he went downstairs, feeling slightly uneasy since he didn't hear the familiar clanging of pots and pans as his mother tried to put them away, the rustle of the morning newspaper crumpled in his father's hands, or the sounds of Itachi training with the dummy out in the back yard. No, he heard none of that._

_ He ran into the kitchen to find no one there, not even a note to say that they may've gone to Naruto's house and were waiting for him to join them. He dashed back upstairs, heading for Itachi's room. Barging in, he found the room empty, as if his older brother hadn't even been there. He cursed and ran outside, only to find it pouring buckets of rain. He ran along the main road of the Uchiha Villa, planning on heading towards Naruto's house. Through the shower of water, he didn't notice the obstacle that was in his path and tripped over it. He groaned and turned on his back, looking to see what he had stumbled over. His eyes widened._

_ His aunt and uncle lay on the muddy ground, blood pooling around them, cuts oozing blood from various places on their bodies. Sasuke scrambled to his feet, trying to erase the image from his mind as he ran faster than before. He stopped momentarily to catch his breath at an intersection of two roads. His heart nearly stopped when he saw the scene beside him. Bodies of Uchiha's lay scattered around the road, all of them dead. He gasped and started stumbling backwards before turning around and running back towards his house, not wanting believe what he was seeing. He stumbled a couple of times before getting back to his house. He ran towards his parents' room and saw them on the floor, his father laying over his mother. Blood stained the wood floors around them and he saw a figure standing in the shadows against the opposite walls. Amber eyes watched him before the figure lunged at him._

_ Twenty-six year old Itachi ran back towards the Villa, clutching the sack of flour in his arms. His mother had woken him up early, asking him to get bag of sugar for the cake she wanted to make later that night for the Uzamaki's. He had neared the gates when he heard someone scream in agony. He tensed when he realized that it was Sasuke. He dropped the bag and jumped over the gates, pushing himself towards their house in the back. That's when he noticed the dead bodies. Someone tackled him from behind and bit him savagely in the neck. He screamed and tossed the person off his back._

_ As he got to his feet, his body shook and convulsed but he tried to steady himself when he saw a white-haired man standing in front of him. He cried out when he felt like a hand had a death grip on his heart and was squeezing hard with each passing second. He collapsed to his hands and knees, gripping his chest tightly, trying to breathe. The man in front him laughed before Itachi blacked out and collapsed to the ground._

_ Naruto woke in much the same way as Sasuke did and had gone downstairs to say good morning to his parents. Just as his foot touched the first floor, he heard his mother scream. "Kaa-san!" He ran towards their room, hearing things being destroyed behind the doors. He barged in, a kunai barely missing his face. His father grabbed him by the arm and they ran towards the front of the house. They crouched under the window on the side of the house._

_ "Tou-san, what's going on?"  
_

_"We're under attack." Minato told Naruto to lift his shirt up. He did as he was told and watched as his father did some hand signs before he jabbed his fingers against Naruto's abdomen. He groaned and held his stomach._

_ "What the hell was that?" he groaned, clutching his stomach._

_ "I can't tell you right now. But when you wake up, there'll be a grey-haired man with a mask covering part of his face. His name is Kakashi. He'll explain everything to you."_

_Naruto was about to ask him if he'd be there, but was interrupted by the explosion from inside. Something slammed into the side of his head and knocked him out._

"When I woke up, Kakashi was standing next to me. He explained to me what happened after I was knocked unconscious. Whoever had attacked us had killed my family and then bit me to change me into a vampire. But they also put the nine-tailed fox inside of me. The thing my father did was a seal that would keep the fox sealed inside and it wouldn't take over my body unless I borrowed some chakra from it. When Kakashi told me what happened to Sasuke and Itachi and said that they were in the next room, I went to go see them. Sasuke was sitting next to the window, watching outside.

"When I went to talk to him, he just glared at me, told me to go away, and turned away from me. He wasn't the same as before. I should've realized that he wouldn't be the same ever again, but it took me two years to figure that out. He didn't talk to me much anymore and only called me annoying. He spent all of his time training and getting stronger."

Hinata wrapped her arms around his neck and they hugged each other tightly. Sakura leaned up and cupped Sasuke's face. "I'm so sorry, Sasuke. I understand now."

He kissed her softly. "Don't blame yourself. This wasn't your fault."

* * *

Sasuke threw open the door to their bedroom and pushed Sakura into the room as he shut the door behind him, never breaking contact with her lips. He pushed her gently down onto the bed and began to kiss down her neck. "Are you sure?" he asked.

She nodded, pulling his lips back to hers. He licked her bottom lip and she let out a soft purr as she parted her lips, allowing him permission. His tongue explored her sweet cavern as his hand wandered under her shirt and ran his thumbs back and forth along her taut stomach. She pulled away and gave a soft sigh as his hands wander farther up until he was able to pull the shirt over her head completely and started working on removing her bra.

She arched her back as he sucked softly on the skin of her collarbone and he reached behind her, fumbling with the clasp. She reached back and helped him when he started getting frustrated. She slipped it off and tossed it on the floor. The cool air touched her overheated skin and her nipples hardened. He leaned out and captured one in his mouth, his tongue flicking it back and forth as his other hand massaged the other one, mimicking the same motions as his tongue.

"Sasuke…" she moaned, gently grabbing his hair and pulling him closer. He groaned against her skin and she could feel the vibrations through her entire body. He switched breasts and she ran her claws along his back, scraping his skin and sending pleasurable waves down his spine to pool down in her groins.

He licked a trail down her stomach to the hem of her jeans and he pulled them down her slender, pale legs with his teeth. She giggled at the scene and moaned softly when he began to kiss his way up the inside of her leg, stopping just above her covered sex. Threading her fingers through his hair, she jerked her hips towards his face to get him to taste her. He chuckled, "Impatient, are we?"

"Sasuke, please…"

He skimmed his nose against her opening through the fabric before hooking his fingers under the hem and pulling them down. He laid a kiss on her clit before licking her opening. She cried out and arched her back, silently begging him to continue. He shoved his tongue inside of her before thrusting it back and forth inside of her, adding two fingers as he brought her closer to the edge. She moved her hips in rhythm with his tongue and fingers, her moans and cried of his name turning him on more and causing him to tongue her faster, removing his fingers and grabbing her hips.

"SASUKE!!!" Her juices spilled onto his tongue and he lapped up every single drop of her essence. Crawling back up her body slowly while kissing his way up, he pulled her hips against his and hissed softly when she pressed against him. Her small fingers wrapped around his thick erection and slowly began to pump him.

He threw his head back, a low snarl escaping his lips. He stopped her hand and brushed it away. "I need to be inside of you, Sakura. I can't wait." He grabbed her by the thighs and pressed himself against her already wet core and eased himself inside of her.

She cried out, feeling herself stretch painfully around him. He groaned and continued to push his way through. Once he was fully inside of her, he had to wait a second to keep control of his self. He knew that she wasn't a virgin anymore, but that didn't mean that he should just suddenly start ramming into her.

Her hips wiggled a little against him and he growled at her playfully. He pulled back before thrusting back into her, grabbing tightly to her hips. She couldn't stop the unbelievably loud moans that spilled out and mixed with his groans. "Sas…harder…please…"

He crushed his lips against her and thrust harder, loving how tight she was around him as he took her. He pulled back and clenched his eyes shut, grinding his teeth together as he felt a tightening in his groins. He threw his head back as he was just about to cum.

Sakura reached up and cupped his face as she arched her back and screamed his name to the high heavens, his loud snarl mixing with it. He collapsed next to her, his strength sapped completely. He pulled her to his chest as their breathing evened out, their lips meeting in a soft kiss before she pulled away.

"I'm so sorry about what happened to your family, Sasuke."

He sighed and closed his eyes. "I told you not to worry about it; it wasn't your fault. This happened long before you were even thought of."

"I know. But listen. I was thinking that maybe one of the reasons you might hate Christmas time is because you remember what happened and maybe as the days go by, you feel like you're replacing your family by being with this one. But I think…your parents would want you to be happy and not mourn too long about their death and everyone else in your clan. You're not betraying them or replacing them by being with the family you have now." She laid her hand on his chest where his heart should've been beating. "I may not know what it's like to have a loving family ripped away from you, but I know the feeling of losing something and/or someone important to you. Even though I hated my parents dearly, no one could ever take the place I have for them in my heart. This family that I have now is one that I want to be in. They have a different place in my heart, just like how it should be for you."

He took her hand in his and kissed her palm, sighing against her skin. "Arigato, Sakura." She snuggled into his chest and began to fall asleep, when she heard him softly whisper, "Merry Christmas, Sakura."

* * *

_**Alright, for any of you wonderful readers that are wondering, i planned on only putting Sakura, Yuka, and Sasuke's story about their transformation in this chapter. I wasn't sure if you all wanted me to make this extremely long chapter with everyone's story. I could make the other's stories into separate chapters. It's up to you all. Let me know what you think: should i put the other character's stories in separate chapters or not put them in the story at all? keep reviewing, plz. =**_**]**


	15. Chapter 15: Engagement & Captured

It'd been nearly three months since Christmas Day and everyone had worked on the plan to kill Orochimaru and his henchmen. But when it came to what they were going to do to Ichino when they had to kill him, Sakura and Yuka would suddenly disappear until they started talking about something else. Everyone knew that it bothered them that their brother had decided to join Orochimaru and was trying to kill them. Sakura was especially bothered by this because she never knew Ichino like that and she would never be able to know him now since they were going to kill him. They were able to round up some more people to help them out with finding where Orochimaru was hiding and would send a group out everyday to search an area and then report back if they found anything or not.

As the school days continued to go on, they began to notice that Ichino and Karin had started hanging out together. They weren't sure what was going on, but they didn't care as long as they weren't bothering them and were lost in their own little world.

Today was March 16 and they all knew that Sakura's birthday was coming up soon. They were all trying to plan something for her, but it was kind of hard for them to do so since they had to worry about their other plan.

"I don't see why you want to do something for me. It's just my birthday. You can get me presents and take me to dinner. That's be fine with me."

"She's got a point," Sai said as Ino snuggled in his arms. "We don't even have to give her presents. Just tell her happy birthday and be done with it." They were sitting at the lunch table outside. They didn't feel like eating human food that afternoon.

"Of course you would say something insulting to me like that."

"What can I say, Ugly?"

She growled at him and Sasuke just tightened his arm around her. "Just ignore him," he whispered.

She sighed, laying her elbow on the table and looked away to the side as conversation started up again. It had been about three months since Sasuke and her started going out, even though he didn't directly ask her the question. Recently she had started saying 'I love you' to him but her only response was the usual: a 'hn' or 'yeah.' It bothered her because for all she knew, he could just be using her and she didn't want that. He was the first person she'd ever given her heart to and she didn't want him to crush it. She'd had enough pain to last her three lifetimes with the way she was treated. Hell, after she finished high school the first time, she wasn't allowed to move out of the house or go to college. Her parents just wouldn't let her and she could feel the effects of it. She couldn't remember some of the things she had first learned and she found herself trying to relearn some simple things that she should've been able to. But it just didn't work.

She spotted Ichino and Karin sitting a couple of tables away from them. They were animatedly talking with each other. Something he would say would cause her to laugh and something she would make him laugh. She grimaced. Why did her brother have to go for someone like her? He could do so much better than her.

She laughed behind her hand. "I still don't get you sometimes. You didn't have to disguise yourself to take me out to lunch."

"Yes I did." He reached across the table and grabbed her hands. "I don't get you either, but I'm madly in love with you."

Her cheeks flamed red and she looked down at her lap embarrassed. "Do you really?"

He gave her a gleaming smile and kissed the back of her hands. "More than you know."

She turned an even brighter shade of red as she mumbled, "I love you too."

He leaned in closer. "Do you still love that Uchiha?"

"Sasuke?" He nodded and she shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't really thought about it lately. Are you mad?"

"No, of course not. I'm just worried that you still want to be with Sasuke and not me."

She shook her head. "Don't worry, Ichino-kun. I'm not leaving you any time soon."

"I hope not."

Sakura mentally blanched as she heard their conversation. She looked over at her sister and found that she wasn't the only one that had been listening. Though, everyone else just seemed to ignore them. Yuka glowered at the top of the table. She couldn't stand him and Karin being together. It bothered her so much that she just wanted to just go over there and drag him away, but she knew that she couldn't do that.

The bell rang for lunch to be over and for everyone to go to sixth period. As they stood up, Karin and Ichino brushed past them and Karin just smirked at the two sisters before entwining her fingers with his. They just glared at her back as they disappeared inside.

"Is something wrong?" Itachi asked, laying his hands on Yuka's shoulders. She shook her head and smiled up at him.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her, silently asking her the same thing. She just smiled and laid her head on his shoulder as they walked to their art class. During class, after she was done sculpting her mini statue, she had asked to go to the bathroom, when she just really wants to get away from the intense smell of clay, water, and other things.

As she walked around the halls of the school, she was just about to turn the corner when she spotted her brother and Karin, pressed against the wall, in a heated make-out session. She quickly ran for the bathroom, feeling like she might throw up. She dry-heaved over the toilet, trying desperately to get the image out of her head. As she crouched on the floor away from the bathroom stalls, she heard someone enter the bathroom.

She looked up at her sister who was leaning against the wall next to her. "I came to find you and bring you back to class. I guess you saw the same thing I did, huh?" She nodded, looking back down at the floor. Yuka sighed. "I wish there was some way to get him to realize that he shouldn't be with her, but he's our enemy."

"But he's still our brother."

Yuka smiled. "I know, imooto. But Ichino decided to be on Oro's side and we have to respect that. That means we have to take him down too."

"But you don't want to."

"And neither do you."

Sakura sighed. "It just bothers me because I just met him and I was just told that he was my brother. I haven't known him as long as you have, Yuka. It's not fair!"

"I know but, there's nothing we can do. Come on, we have to get back to class."

They walked back to class with their arms linked together. As they walked into class, they saw Karin sitting in her usual spot reapplying her lip gloss. They both mentally gagged and took their places between Sasuke and Itachi. Both men shared confused glances over their heads before turning back to their sculptures.

* * *

Sakura was slipping her helmet over her head, swinging her leg over her bike when she heard someone calling her name. She turned and saw Karin running up to her, dragging Ichino behind her. She narrowed her eyes at them before kicking the kickstand up and revving the engine. Ichino grabbed the handlebars before she could take off. "I know you heard her calling your name, itoko*."

She grimaced and lifted the visor of her helmet. "What do you want, Karin?" She could feel everyone else in her family watching her, making sure that nothing happened.

"I just was wondering if you knew that your cousin and I were dating."

"Trust me Karin, word spreads around the school like wildfire." She went to drive away, but Ichino didn't let go.

"She's not done speaking," he growled.

"Thank you, Ichino-kun," Karin beamed. Sakura scowled at her. Karin held out her hand in front of Sakura's face. Perched on her ring finger was a thin gold band with a red ruby settled in the middle of it and white diamonds around the band.

"What is that?" Sakura sputtered. Somehow, she already knew what the answer was.

"An engagement ring," she whispered, smiling smugly at her. "We've already been together for three months and we decided that we wanted to be together for the rest of our eternal lives. We just want to let you know."

Sakura pried Ichino's fingers off her bike. "Thanks for the information. It was completely unnecessary." She sped out of the parking lot, not waiting for the others to follow behind.

Karin pouted up at Ichino. "She wasn't happy, was she?"

Ichino pulled her into his arms. "Don't worry about her, Karin. She's just jealous."

She nodded and looked up at him. "You said that you had to take me somewhere after school?"

"Yeah, I want you to meet somebody. I was hoping that you'd help me and him out with something. We thought you'd help because Suigetsu and Juugo have been helping out as well. Do you think you'd want to come?"

She smiled seductively at him, running her fingers up his chest. "As long as I'm near you, I don't mind."

"I'm glad then," he replied, giving her a quick kiss.

* * *

Sakura stormed into the house, slamming the door shut behind her. She kicked her shoes off near the door and flung her bag by the stairs. She was so angry. She wasn't sure what she was mad at, but she was angry. _No, that isn't right._ She was frustrated and knew the reason why she was. She was frustrated because when she saw the engagement ring on Karin's hand and when she realized how much they loved each other, she felt like she was only in a one-sided relationship.

She loved Sasuke, but she wasn't sure if the feelings were returned. Sure, sometimes it felt like he returned the feelings, but it was always so hard to tell with him. As her sister put it, 'he was an emotionally deprived person and that he wouldn't show any emotion for the rest of his life after what happened.'

She flopped on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. _What is wrong with me? I'm getting angry just because Karin is already engaged after three months and with my brother at that. What is he trying to pull? Is this all a joke? But why do I suddenly doubt Sasuke just because they're engaged?_

**_ Isn't it obvious?_**

_ What?_

**_ You're mad because Sasuke hasn't said 'I love you' back and you feel like you're not in a real relationship._**

_ I already established that, but I shouldn't let this bother me. I was thinking irrationally. I know Sasuke loves me and he wouldn't hurt me, right?_

**_ Asking me if you're right is doubting him._**

She groaned._ I do believe he loves me and no one is going to tell me otherwise. I love him and I should be happy that my brother is engaged to someone that he loves._

**_ Even if he could do so much better than him?_**

_ Even if he could do so much better than Karin. I just don't understand why he chose her._

**_ You're always wondering why Sasuke chose you._**

_ This is different. I'm not a slutty, screaming banshee bitch like Karin and Ichino isn't an emotionless shell like Sasuke._

**_ Nice words to describe your boyfriend._**

_ It's all I have at the moment._

**_ Well, be happy all you want, I just know that something bad is coming out of them being engaged._**

_ I'll be sure to keep an eye on them_

She heard her bedroom door open and saw Sasuke walk into their room. He silently closed the door and sat next to her on the bed. "Want to explain why you suddenly drove off without us?"

She sighed and pulled him down to lay next to her, curling up against his chest. "Karin and Ichino announced to me that they were engaged already."

He tensed. "I'm not exactly sure how…"

She sighed. "I was just frustrated with myself is all. It's something personal."

He placed a kiss on her forehead. "As long as you'll be alright. I don't want you to be upset for too long."

"I'll be fine. I'm sorry that took off like that. It was wrong of me."

He shook his head. "Doesn't matter now." He kissed her lips heatedly and rolled so that he was on top of her. "Listen to me for a second, Sakura," he said as he pulled away. She nodded. "The necklace I gave you for Christmas; there's a meaning behind the reason I got it for you."

She fingered the chain around her neck. "What is it?"

"Once we've killed off Oro and everyone in association with him, I plan on marrying you and making you an Uchiha someday. It's a promise necklace. Through the short amount of months that we've known each other I've thought about it and I do want you to be my wife."

"Oh, Sasuke…"

"But, we have to wait until we kill them for us to get married, okay?"

She nodded, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Thank you, Sasuke."

"You're welcome," he whispered. They continued their heated kiss, Sasuke running his hands up under his skirt to stroke her wet lips, noticing that she was wearing only a thong. Suddenly, Sasuke sat up, looking outside the window. Sakura sat up, cupping his face in her hands. "Sasuke, what is it?"

He sighed. "It's nothing." He pulled his fingers away and stood. "I have to go talk to talk to Kakashi about something."

She grabbed his hand. "Tell me what's wrong."

"It's nothing, Sakura. I'll tell you later." He snatched his hand back, walking out of the room. He headed down the hall and down the stairs, finding the silver-haired man in the living room reading one of his Make-Out Paradise books. "What can I help you with, Sasuke? I heard you had to talk to me about something."

He glared down at the carpet, clenching his fists so hard that his knuckles turned white. "This afternoon, when we were heading home, I had to pull over on the highway because it was getting overwhelming. You said that the seal would keep it under control."

"I said it'd keep it under control as long as you allowed it too."

"I was trying but it didn't work and it nearly took over my entire body. If this keeps happening, she's going to find out and sooner or later I'm going to be practically crawling to that bastard."

"You have to tell her, Sasuke."

"No, I don't. If we can kill him before it takes over my body completely, then I don't have to tell her."

"What if it spreads before then and she sees?"

"Hn."

Kakashi sighed and set his book down, marking the page with his finger. "You can't keep this from her forever and as far as the seal goes, I'll remove that one and put a stronger one on. I wasn't sure how strong that thing was but now I see how powerful it can be."

"Upstairs just now, I felt it flare up again." He rested his hand on his right shoulder. "I almost let it spread while I was around her. Then I started hearing a voice telling me to go to him. You have to put the stronger seal on now before I do end up going to him."

"Meet me out in the woods by the stream in fifteen. I'll get what I need and I'll replace the seal with a stronger one." He set his book down and went to walk past him but stopped. "Even if it does disappear, you have to let her know sometime. If you don't, then I will."

"I will let her know. After we kill him."

"You're lucky that seal makes it disappear when it doesn't flare up, otherwise she would've noticed by now."

"I know." He turned and headed up the stairs where he found Sakura sitting on the window sill. "Sakura."

She looked at him. "What is it?"

"I have to go somewhere with Kakashi. I'll be back later."

"Can I come?"

"No."

"But–"

"I said no, Sakura."

"Why can't I ever do anything with you?!" she shouted as she stood, tears streaming down her face.

He stopped. "What do you mean?"

"You and I never do much together besides sit around each other, have sex, and sleep. We barely even hunt anymore together. You're always off with someone else to go hunting."

"What do you want from me?"

"I want us to have fun together."

"Define fun."

"Like go to the fair or the park or something. Anything because we never do anything together and I feel like this is a one-sided relationship."

"Do you doubt me?"

She trembled. "I don't know. I don't want to doubt you. I love you, Sasuke. I really do. But whenever I tell you that, you never say it to me back."

"Sakura, can we talk about this when I get back?"

"Why?"

He walked up to her grabbed her hands in his, wiping her tears away. "Listen to me, this is not a one-sided relationship. I don't say it back because…I have trouble expressing my emotions through words, especially love and kindness and all that. Just give me some time, Sakura."

She sighed. "Okay."

He gave her a soft kiss. "I'll be back later." He turned and left.

* * *

TenTen sighed and stood up from her position on the couch. "Neji, I'm going to go ahead and head to bed. You're not going to find what you're looking for in any of those books."

He sighed. "There must be a least some little detail in here that will give me a clue as to why he's doing all this."

She sighed and patted Kaji's head. "Well, I'm taking Kaji back to Sakura and then I'm going to sleep." She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the lips before heading up the stairs with Kaji lagging behind. Just as they reached the top step, the door burst open and a bloody Kakashi walked in. TenTen screamed and soon, everyone was on alert.

Tsunade and Sakura rushed down the stairs and caught Kakashi just as he fell over. "Sakura, we need to get him to the sick room upstairs and get him in a stable condition."

He grabbed Sakura by the waist. "Don't worry about…me…you need to find…Sasuke…"

"What? What happened? Is he okay?"

"We were…ambushed…just as I finished…replacing the seal…"

"By who?" Tsunade demanded.

The Akatsuki…"

Itachi growled from the top step. "The Akatsuki have to be in league with Orochimaru."

"I thought they kicked him out or something," Ino quivered.

"They did. But he must've offered them something valuable because before I left I told them to leave us alone. Dammit! Now they have Sasuke."

As Tsunade and Sakura carried an unconscious Kakashi up the stairs, Sakura asked, "What do they want with Sasuke?"

"I'm not sure. But we have to find him soon before they do anything to him."

"Sakura."

"Yes, Tsunade-obaa?"

"Take Kakashi into the sick room and heal him as best as you can while I send out search teams. Remember all that I've taught you in the past three months and call me if there are any problems."

"Hai." She dragged Kakashi down the hall.

Tsunade turned to the others. "I want you to round up as many people who are aiding us and have them search around the city for Sasuke Uchiha. Anyone who finds any clues of his whereabouts is to report their information to me immediately as possible. If anyone runs into any of the Akatsuki members, Ichino, Kabuto, or Orochimaru, you are to attack and force any information out of them."

They all nodded. "Hai."

"Itachi, I'm putting you in charge of dividing up the search teams once you have everyone together."

"Hai, Tsunade."

"Dismissed."

They disappeared in a poof of smoke. Tsunade looked down at the floor. "Kami-sama, please bring Sasuke back to my Sakura-chan."

* * *

Sasuke came back to consciousness with a clouded mind. He couldn't remember what happened, where he was, or what was going on. All he could see was darkness. He struggled to open his eyes, but it was all darkness except for the little sliver of light that he could only assume was under a door. As he regained feeling back in his body, he could feel his arms above his head and chains wrapped around his wrist. He was kneeling on the floor with chain around his ankles as well. He groaned and shook his head, trying to see clearly as his vision swirled a bit. He jerked at the chain around his wrist, but they didn't break. He pulled harder, but they still didn't budge.

He heard feet walking down the corridor towards the door and a voice mumbling something under it's breath but he couldn't understand the words. He saw the shadow under the door before it opened and bright lights attacked his eyes. He hissed and squinted, seeing the silhouette of the figure.

"It's good to see you again, Sasuke-kun."

"What do you want with me, Orochimaru?"

"I don't want anything from you but something simple. We could help each other, you see. I know you want more power to get stronger and I want your body."

"For what?"

"You see, I'm running out of bodies to use for when I need a new body when the old one gets destroyed or useless. And since you're a carrier of the Sharingan, it'll work to my advantage for what I want to accomplish."

"What's that?"

"You'll just have to wait and find out."

"I refuse to help you with anything."

"Oh, but I think you would. You see, that little family of yours is not safe. I had Deidara place his explosive clay all around the house in different areas where they'll never find them. All I have to do is give him the command and you're precious family will be crushed by the weight of the house."

"No!"

"And I know how much you love my dear Sakura-chan. Wouldn't you hate for her to die so soon? Don't you think she would hate you for killing her and everyone else in the house because you have no heart?"

He stood, trying to break free from the restraints and claw Orochimaru's face out, but he couldn't move. Orochimaru just laughed at him. "You can't break free from those chains. They're special chains that vampires cannot break free from. Join my side, Sasuke-kun, and I promise that your family will be safe and I can show you how to control that curse mark and use it to your advantage."

He hung his head, knowing that he was in a lose-lose situation. If he said no, then he would lose Sakura and the others If he said yes, he'd still lose Sakura and everyone else because he'd be working for Orochimaru. He sighed. "Fine. I'll join your side."

"That's a good boy. I'll send in Kabuto later to release you and bring a pair of clothes for you. Just to let you know though, because I don't completely trust that you'll stay here, I've placed a jutsu on you. If you decide to do anything against what I tell you, I can activate the jutsu and I have complete control over your body."

He cursed under his breath as Orochimaru left, closing the door and laughing his way down the corridor. "I've failed you, Sakura. Please forgive me."

* * *

Hinata gasped. "No!"

"What'd you see, Hinata?" Itachi demanded as they searched across town. In his group was Hinata, Yuka, and Naruto. They all stopped on top of a building and looked at Hinata.

"Sasuke was in a room chained to a wall. Orochimaru told him that he could either join him or have everyone in the house die. He had Deidara place his clay explosives all over the house where we can't find them."

"What did Sasuke choose?"

"...He chose to join Orochimaru."

"Dammit!" Itachi yelled. Yuka placed a hand on his arms and he jerked his arm back. She looked at the ground sadly and he sighed, pulling her into his arms. "I'm sorry. I just…I don't know what to do. I should've known that they would try to take him away."

"There was no way we could've known. Hinata only has visions at random times. There was no way she would've had one in time. Don't blame yourself for this. This is no one's fault."

"But I'm his older brother. I should always be watching his back."

"Itachi, Sasuke is a big man. He can handle himself. You don't always have to baby him. When we get back to the mansion, we'll tell everyone what Hinata saw and once we find out where Orochimaru is hiding, we'll modify the plan a bit since Sasuke isn't with us and we'll put it into action." She leaned up and gave him a gentle kiss. "Everything will be okay; I promise."

He hugged her tighter to him and buried his face in her shoulder. Lightning flashed above them followed by the low rumble of thunder and fat raindrops began to fall from the sky. This would be a very long night.

* * *

*itoko = cousin

* * *

**_Okay, so vote that got the most was that i not put the other stories in. i had thought about it and i kinda wanted to put them in but not put them in. But i'll try and put a little background information into the following chapters for the other characters. As for Karin, i know what you all are thinking. but she will meet her demise soon i promise. this is just some...story build up. it's necessary. Until next time. =_]**


	16. Chapter 16: Rescue Mission Part I

"I didn't know you had a basement, baa-chan," Naruto said as they headed down the stairs.

"You've been living in my house for the past five months almost and you didn't know that I had a basement? Where the hell have you been? You go searching around my house all the time trying to find where the hell I hide the ramen everyday and you never thought to look behind this door? Oh, Kami, what's wrong with this boy?"

"Tsunade-oba, I didn't know you had a basement."

"Yeah, well, you don't go searching for ramen all the time like this goon here." When they came to the floor, she flicked a light switch and the room illuminated in bright lights, shining down on the massive amount of weapons. Kunais and shurikens of all sizes, swords, daggers, guns, explosives, and much more.

"Where did you get all of this?"

"I have my sources. It's just none of your business. Grab the weapons that you'll need for your part of the plan and then meet me out in the garage. I have the information that you'll need." She walked back up the stairs to check on Kakashi before letting him come down to get his weapons.

Sakura went over to the sword rack and found a sword missing. She looked at Neji. "Hey, a sword is missing."

He walked over and looked them over. "Sasuke must've taken his sword with him when he and Kakashi left."

She quickly grabbed two swords and strapped them to her back. While training with Kakashi, she realized that she could do much more with two swords instead of one. She grabbed two guns and loaded them with two clips of ammo. She shoved them into her back pockets before loaded the holsters on her legs with kunais and shurikens.

Shikamaru and Jiraiya were grabbing explosives and wires. While everyone was inside fighting, they had to set up the explosives around the building to make sure that once everyone had done their part of the plan, the vampires they killed wouldn't come back to life.

Yuka went up to her sister and gave her a tight hug. "I promise that we'll get him back, imooto. Orochimaru can't keep him forever."

"Yuka, Kakashi said something about putting a seal on Sasuke. What did he mean?"

"It's nothing for you to worry about," Kakashi said as he came down the stairs. "When we get Sasuke back, I'm sure he'll tell you what he should've told you a while back."

She nodded and let go of her sister. Once everyone had their weapons, they headed upstairs and headed towards the garage. Waiting for them were motorcycles instead of cars, Tsunade standing off to the side with wirelesses in her hands.

"Each one of you gets a motorcycle and wireless. The wireless is to keep in contact with each other, letting each other know any information that you've received, and to let Shikamaru and Jiraiya know when everyone is out of the hideout."

"Hai." Everyone grabbed a wireless and then hopped on a motorcycle, slipping their helmets on. Jiraiya gave his wife a swift kiss on the lips before hopping onto a bike as well.

Tsunade stood in front of them. "Alright, Hinata, Ino, and I will be staying here to lead you to where you need to go and keep an eye out for you when you need it. We'll be able to speak to you through the wirelesses. The hideout that you all need to head for is in an old abandoned castle near the coast off of the lake that you all visit occasionally. Kakashi, I'm putting you in charge of this assassination and rescue mission."

"Hai, Tsunade."

"Remember your part in the plan and execute them quickly. Come back safely, you all."

"Hai."

"Head out!" All the motorcycles sped out of the garage, following Kakashi down the driveway. Hinata, Ino, and Tsunade headed down into the basement of the garage where the tracking equipment was. Ino and Hinata sat in the two chairs in front of the wide flat-screen computers. Ino hit a button and a group of blue dots appeared on the screen. "That's them. So far, so good. No vampires seem to have picked up on their location and no one is following them."

"Good. Once they get to the castle, we'll have to keep a close eye on them." She turned to Hinata. "Get Yamato on the phone. We're going to need his help."

* * *

Kakashi slowed to a stop and held his hand up, signaling everyone to stop. "From here on, we're going to have to go by foot. We have to be as quiet as possible from this point on. Put the bikes behind the trees. When we leave here, we'll come back for them."

Everyone nodded and did as Kakashi had ordered. Using their vampire speed, they ran up to the iron gate of the castle. There were no guards but that didn't surprise any of them. The castle itself was four stories high with thick black bricks. It almost looked more kings palace from medieval times. The iron fence that went around the whole building blocked the forest from the castle. Everyone turned on their wirelesses.

Neji and Itachi jumped over the iron fence and ran across the lawn towards the castle, staying as low a possible. Pressed up against the old brick walls, they gave the signal to Sakura and Yuka. They looked at each other and nodded. They jumped over the gates, with everyone except Shikamaru and Jiraiya behind them, and ran towards the front door, kicking it open. Sakura ran out in front with her swords drawn, attacking the vampires that ran towards them. Yuka and Itachi shot at the ones that had gotten past Sakura with their guns.

Once everything was clear and there was no more movement, they all relaxed. Sakura jerked her swords away from her to get the excess blood off before sheathing them. Neji nodded towards Shikamaru and Jiraiya and they ran towards the side of the house to start setting the explosives. As the others ran inside, Shikamaru set a bomb down and set the time. He spoke into the wireless. "Okay, I've set the explosives for two hours. That should give everyone enough time. Once we've set all the bombs, we'll let you all know and start the timer. After that, everyone has two hours to kill off everyone that's not on our side and get out."

Everyone answered and Shikamaru disconnected.

Once they got to four different staircases, Temari pressed the button on her wireless. "Where do we all go from here, Tsunade?"

"Itachi, Yuka, and Sakura take the far left one. That'll lead you to the top floor. That's where you need to go. I don't see any other vampires that'll get in your way."

"Got it." They ran up the stairs.

"TenTen, Temari, and Naruto, take the far right. It leads to the basement. That's where the experiments are. There are some hostages down there who haven't been experimented on. Find them and free them. If there is no hope for any of the experiments, leave them be."

"Understood." They ran down the stairs towards the basement.

"Neji and Sai, the second left one leads up to the second floor. There are some vampires up there, but some of the Akatsuki members are up there as well." They gave slight nods before running up the stairs.

"Kakashi, I called for Yamato to come and back you up. I've already given him the information that he needs. He's well aware of Sasuke's predicament. The last set of stairs leads up to the third floor. I'm not sure who it is, but there are three Akatsuki members up there. They have a whole line of vampires standing in front of them as a first line of defense. Expect them to attack as soon as you step into the room."

"I understand. I'll try holding them of for as long as I can while Yamato is coming."

* * *

Itachi, Yuka, and Sakura reached giant wooden doors that lead to the room where they needed to go. Itachi kicked open the door while the two girls stood behind him with their guns pointed to the side while Itachi took out his sword. his Sharingan spinning madly.

With their enhanced sight, they saw no one in the room. It was completely deserted except for a couple pieces of furniture. They stalked around the room, looking for any sign that there could be someone there, but after two rounds around, they found no one. Sakura dropped her hands. "You've got to be kidding me," she groaned, leaning against the wall. "There's no one up here. We wasted our time and energy coming up here only to find no one here? What a lot of bullshit."

"Keep your guard up, just in case," Itachi warned.

"I don't see what the point," she sighed, exasperated. She leaned harder against the wall. "For all we know they could've left already. Maybe while we were fighting off those first round of vampires they heard us and escaped."

"Then why'd they leave the Akatsuki here to fight?" Ino asked through the headset.

"How am I supposed to know?"

"Well, we might as well go help the others since we didn't need to do anything," Yuka said.

Sakura suddenly screamed. Itachi and Yuka whipped around to find her gone. "Sakura? Sakura, where are you?" Both had their weapons up, standing back to back. "Tsunade, where's Sakura?"

"I don't know, she's gone off the screen. We're trying to find her." On Tsunade's side Ino and Hinata were typing away furiously at the keyboard, trying to find Sakura amongst the building.

"You'll never find her, Yuka," said a whispering voice surrounding them.

"Ichino, come out, you coward!"

"Come out from where? I'm right here," he whispered in her ear. She jumped away and saw Ichino standing where her and Itachi just were. Ichino frowned. "I don't appreciate you and your 'family' charging in here and killing everyone like that. So, just so we might be even, I'll just have to kill you both."

"You won't lay a hand on her," Itachi growled as he lunged at the other vampire. Yuka just stood there, watching the scene, thinking why her brother was so intent on killing her and Sakura.

* * *

Sakura screamed as she slid down the tunnel, her claws trying to hook onto anything to stop herself from falling. She could hear Yuka's fading voice calling her name as she fell. Suddenly, there was no tunnel around her and she fell hard on her back. She closed her eyes and groaned as she rolled onto her stomach, trying to somehow ease the searing pain in her spine.

As she opened her eyes, she saw that she was under a spotlight. She looked up, squinting and then looked around, trying to see if there was anyone or anything else in the room, but her eyes were still adjusting to the light and she couldn't see anything. She listened for anything: a whispering breath, a heartbeat, the shuffle of feet, the clashing of weapons, anything. But she heard nothing. Just her own soft breathing and the dead silence.

She got to her feet and picked her guns up from the ground. She stepped out from under the spotlight and held her weapons in front of her, her guard up and ready to attack anything that wasn't on her side. Every step she took seemed too loud in the eerie silence and she told herself to calm down or she wouldn't have a good reaction to anything.

The spotlight suddenly went out and then the whole room was engulfed in a dim light. She looked around and saw Orochimaru standing across from her on the opposite side of the room. She told herself to be brave and stand up to him. She took a step back to steady herself. "Oro…"

He chuckled. "My beautiful cherry blossom, I'm so glad that you've decided to join us down here. Too bad you were the only one that found this level."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that those four staircases you found didn't lead to this floor. Above us is the basement, where I have my experiments. This is the floor where we hide during the day."

She stayed silent, waiting for him to do something. Anything so that she could have a shot at him.

He sighed. "I suppose your waiting for me to attack, eh, Sa-ku-ra?" She just glared harder at him. He was teasing her to get her irritated, but she wouldn't buy it. He shook his head. "I wouldn't attack you, Sakura. You're much to precious to me for me to kill with my own hands. Although, I can think of some people who would love to see you dead."

She was abruptly flung across the room and crashed into the wall. When she struggled to sit up, she saw Karin standing across from her, an evil smirk placed on her lips. Someone stepped in front of her vision and for a fleeting minute, she thought that it was Orochimaru. But when she looked at his face, she gasped in horror. "No…"

* * *

Jiraiya was wiring together some of the explosives, being careful not to jostle them too much or they could explode. As he stood, his foot accidentally kicked one of the pieces and both men froze as they waited for something to happen. After about thirty seconds of waiting, nothing happened and both sighed.

Shikamaru sighed in aggravation. "Be careful where you step, you idiot."

"I know, I know. Let's just get on with it."

As they placed the last set of explosives around the house, they saw someone run towards the house. Shikamaru ran out and used his Shadow Possession to stop the person. As they walked towards each other, Shikamaru realized that it was Yamato. "You're here to help Kakashi, I presume."

He nodded. "How much time do they have left?"

"Once we've placed this last set of explosives, everyone will have two hours to get out before it goes off. We'll let everyone know when we've set it."

He nodded again and Shikamaru released his shadow possession. Yamato disappeared inside in a flash. Shikamaru went back to helping Jiraiya. _I hope everyone is holding up okay._

* * *

Sakura cried out as Karin's claws slashed at her side. They'd been at it for the past twenty minutes. Her wounds were healing, but slightly slower than they should've been and when Karin noticed this, she tried to take advantage of that fact. Sasuke stood to the side flanking Orochimaru's side as thy watched the battle.

Sasuke wore a white shirt that was wide open, revealing his chiseled chest and stomach, blue pants with black sandals, black arm guards and black shin guards. It was completely different from what she'd ever seen him in.

She had gotten rid of her guns since they were obviously no use to her when they ran out of bullets and a majority of the ammo didn't even hit their target. So now, she was relaying on her ability in hand to hand combat and the jutsus that she was taught during her training.

"Come on, Sakura," she taunted. "Throw a punch at me, do a roundhouse, do something. You're just on the defense. You can't expect to win when you're only dodging and defending."

She growled in irritation, knowing that Karin was trying to get under her skin and she knew that it was working, even just a little bit. She swung her swords with practiced skill, turning her hand when needed to try and hit Karin. But she knew that even with her intense training hours that she had with Kakashi wasn't going to help her. Karin had more years of fighting experience under her belt that Sakura and she always would, unless she tried the genjutsu Yuka taught her. But it would take an enormous amount of chakra, but she hadn't used any, so she should be okay, right?

**_Just go for it! Kill her already so we can grab Sasuke and leave,_** she inner shouted.

_Alright, here goes nothing._

She jumped away from Karin and sheathed her swords. Karin cocked her head to the side, slightly confused as to what she was doing. Sakura just smirked and formed a flurry of hand signs, one right after the other and as she formed the last hand sign, Karin had that nagging feeling that she should've attacked when she had the chance.

Sakura slowly faded from Karin's view and she looked around confused. "Where the hell are you, you pink-haired slut?" But she got no response. She cursed and spun around, her eyes frantic and wild as she searched for her, but all she could see was Orochimaru with his arms crossed and Sasuke leaning against the wall. Where was she?

Orochimaru began to frown when he saw that Karin was spinning around looking Sakura when Sakura was standing not thirty feet away from her. _What the hell did she do?_

Sakura suddenly laughed and Karin froze when she realized that the voice was echoing off the walls and surrounding her, making it hard to pinpoint her location. Soon, vines began to creep up through the cracks between the stone slabs under her feet and grew into tall trees with blood red leaves on their branched.

"Don't you like my vines? They're very pretty, aren't they?" Sakura's voice taunted. "Just don't get too close to them. They're very deadly."

The vines unraveled themselves and slithered towards Karin. She took out a giant kunai and slashed at them, trying to keep them from getting closer to her. She gasped suddenly when a couple vines wrapped around her ankle from behind, the sharp thorns scraping her skin. Another vine caught her wrist and wrapped it self tightly around her arm.

Sasuke and Orochimaru watched in horror as cuts began to appear on Karin's skin. There was clearly nothing attacking her and Sakura wasn't even attacking her. So, what the hell was going on?

Karin screamed suddenly when the vines wrapped around her thighs buried into her skin and began slithering further under her skin. She cried out in pain and agony, using her free hand with the kunai to cut at her skin, screaming, "Get it out of me! It's inside of me! Get it out, please! Make it stop!"

The ones wrapped around her arm did the same and Sakura flinched at the piercing scream. Another vine wrapped around her torso and dug into her skin, heading for her heart.

When Sakura saw that Karin was beginning to give up, she put her hands together and said, "Release!"

The red-headed woman fell to the floor, gasping for breath. Her wounds weren't healing and the kunai rolled out of her hand, clattering on the floor. She glared up at Sakura as blood spilled from her mouth and her wounds. "You…bitch…" she forced out.

"You should've known that your death was coming soon."

Her red eyes rolled to the back of her head and the three occupants in the room had concluded that she was dead. Orochimaru sighed and Sakura's head snapped towards him. "You're next, Orochimaru," she seethed.

He laughed. "Like you could ever defeat me. It was pure luck that you were able to defeat her when you've only been a vampire for three months. Now me, I've been a vampire for the longest time. Maybe I should see how you fair against your beloved Sasuke."

She gasped.

"Sasuke-kun, if you wouldn't mind?"

Sasuke crossed his arms and looked away. "I don't take orders from a bastard like you."

Orochimaru scowled. "If you won't do what I say, I'll just have to force you then."

Sasuke grunted suddenly, his body going rigid and he began to shake as he clutched his head. He looked up at Sakura with pained eyes. "Sak…get out…of here…now!"

* * *

Yuka cried out as she skidded on her back across the floor. Sometime while she had stood in a daze, watching Itachi and Ichino fight, Kabuto had snuck up on her and attacked her. So, while she fought the white-haired vampire, she still had chances to switch with Itachi and fight with Ichino. But even though she wanted to hurt him for betraying her, she didn't want to kill him. It pained her and she couldn't think of killing him. Just as she and Itachi had switched again, she had told him not to kill Ichino.

"Why the hell not?"

"Because I promised Sakura that I'd let her talk to him."

"Talk to me about what, sister dear?"

She hissed and used her gun to bash him in the face. Kabuto had run up behind her and tackled her. So now, here they were, Yuka on the ground facing Kabuto while Itachi and Ichino disappeared and reappeared around the room using their vampire speed to try and get the upper hand. Then, Hinata's voice came on over the wireless.

"Yuka, Itachi, we've found Sakura. She's down below the basement. I think she's fighting against Sasuke and Karin is dead. Orochimaru is just standing there, I think, watching them."

Yuka's eyes bugged. "Itachi!"

"You go ahead after her, I'm going to hold these two off as long as I can," Itachi's voice sounded from around the room.

"But Itachi–"

"Yuka, GO!"

She nodded, got to her feet and ran, using her vampire speed. Kabuto made a move to go after her, but Itachi was suddenly in front of him with his sword pointed at his neck. "You're not going anywhere. You and Ichino are fighting me," he growled.

* * *

TenTen screamed when she was slashed in the back with Kisame's sword, Samehada. As she rolled to a stop, she could feel the difference in the amount of chakra she had. She had to be more careful or she could die. As she sat up into a kneeling crouch, she could feel the blood running down her back and soaking her shirt. Temari was kneeling down behind one of the cases of experiments in water, trying to keep hidden but keep an eye on the fight. She'd been able to dodge his attention and get some of the hostages out of the cells. So far, all them were out and at the rate that they were going at, they might not make it in time to get the experiments out of there. When she heard Hinata say that they found Sakura, she was confused as to what was going on. But a couple seconds later, Shikamaru said that they'd started the timer. That was about thirty minutes ago.

Both women watched as Naruto made multiple shadow cones of himself and had them attack Kisame before charging at him with the Rasengan. The shark man was too distracted with trying to fend off the clones that had attacked him and almost didn't notice him coming towards him. At the last minute, he flung most of the clones off and swiped his sword at Naruto.

He yelled in pain as the sword slashed his stomach. Kisame laughed. "You all are so weak that it's hilarious! You'll never be able to defeat me, you puny and weak excuses of vampires. I'm barely even breaking a sweat here."

TenTen pulled out rolls of exploding tags from her holster strapped to her waist. She smiled and told Naruto to move against the wall. As he did what he was told, she moved around in vampires speed throwing the wires against the walls and the ceiling, trapping Kisame where he was. As she landed in a safe hole in the bush of wires, she smirked at the shark man.

He glared. "What is this child's play?"

"Even if you barely touch the tags, they will go off and that'll set the rest of them off."

"But you've just trapped yourself and your friends in here as well."

"I know. But I know a way out of here. You don't."

He growled. She looked around, looking for any sign of Temari. Once she caught sight of the dirty blonde, she gave a barely visible nod before looking back at Kisame. She took a small step back. "Temari, now!"

The sand woman opened her fan and yelled, "Wind Scythe Jutsu!"

TenTen jumped back against the wall where Naruto was and both watched as Kisame was slashed at with invisible weapons and the experiments capsules broke open from the intense wind. When everything died down, Kisame lay dead in his own puddle of blood along with some of the experiments laying dead as well. The three went to all the experiments, looking for any that were still alive and any that weren't. They found none alive.

* * *

Yuka flew down the stairs of the hidden side stairs she found towards the floor that Hinata said that Sakura was on. She was worried for her sister. She knew that if Sasuke was fighting Sakura, trying to hurt her, that Orochimaru had to have done something to him, she just didn't know what. She could hear the clashing of weapons and the battle cries from her sister. She could feel the tears stinging the back of her eyes at the thought of Sakura being killed. "SAKURA!!!"

* * *

Sakura slid back on her feet and collapsed to her hands and knees. She huffed, gasping greedily for air, feeling the stinging of the open wounds on her torso. They weren't healing fast enough and she could feel the tiredness seep into her bones and the little amount of chakra that she had left wasn't helping at all. If she used up anymore chakra, she would die.

She looked up as Sasuke walked slowly towards her with his Kusanagi dragging behind him, the tip scraping against the floor. She could see the struggle he had in his eyes trying to resist Orochimaru and the jutsu that was placed on him. She could see the pain in his eyes and his body movements because of the pain that he was afflicting on her. Her wireless had been knocked off her head earlier and even though she tried to get to it, Sasuke would always get in her way. She could hear everyone talking to each other, could hear the battles going on and she smiled internally at the thought that everyone was getting along and working together.

She smiled to herself and stood slowly to her feet, holding her hands up. He stopped. As she looked up at him, he tensed when he saw her smiling face and tears welled up in her eyes. "Sasuke, I can't fight you anymore."

"Sakura," he ground out, "you have to. You can't let me kill you."

"I can't stop you, Sasuke. I love you too much and I couldn't bear the thought of hurting you. I barely have any chakra left and if I use anymore of it, I'll end up dying." She stood up straighter, her arms spread out to the sides, and her smile getting bigger. "So, go ahead and kill me because we both know that I'd end up dying here anyway if our battle continued."

"Sakura, no! Fight me!"

"I can't." She smiled faltered a bit. "We've had fun together, right? And I've had fun, making new memories with everyone in our family and being able to make new friends while living with you guys."

"Sakura…don't do this…"

"I have to because this as far as I can go. There's no forward for me. This is it and I brace my death readily."

"SAKURA!!!"

Both heads turned towards the archway where the staircase was. "I'll miss you so much, Yuka-chan."

"Sasuke-kun, kill her already," Orochimaru ordered, hissing through his teeth.

Sasuke's body wasn't under his control anymore and he brought the sword up, ready to strike her down. His feet began to run towards her, the tip of his sword pointed at her heart. He ground his teeth together and whispered her name so softly, "Sakura…"

Her body hunched over the silver blade as the sword pierced right through her. She stared up at his anguished and horrified eyes, smiling as blood dribbled down her chin. "I love you so much, Sasuke. I always have." Her hand reached up and caressed his cheek and slid down his skin, leaving a bloody trail in its wake.

* * *

**_Sorry that it's been a while since i've updated. But i was trying to think up what to do for the next couple chapters. I hope you guys liked this one. Please keep the reviews coming my way. I'll hopefully hve another chapter up sooner than this one._**


	17. Chapter 17: Rescue Mission Part 2

Tsunade gasped as she saw Sakura's name disappear from the screen. "Ino, Hinata, where'd Sakura go?"

"We're not sure." They pulled up the search and typed her name up, doing what the they did last time they had to find her. As it scanned through all the levels of the house, a box popped up saying, 'Sakura Haruno: DEAD.'

All three women froze, gazing at the screen. Tsunade was the first to react, snatching up the microphone. "Yuka, where the hell are you?!" she screeched. But she got no response.

"Tsunade, everyone only has an hour left to get out," Shikamaru said.

"Someone needs to find Sakura, now! She's disappeared off our map and it says that she's dead."

"She is dead," Yuka said wearily into the wireless. She watched as Sasuke caught her in his arms, pulling his blade from her body. He kneeled on the ground and cradled her in his arms. He patted her cheek, frantically trying to wake her up.

"Sakura…please, get up. Please, don't do this to me. Open your eyes."

Her eyes fluttered open for a fleeting second and she took a deep breath. "Sasuke…"

"Don't talk, Sakura. I'm going to get you out of here. You're going to be okay. Just…please keep your eyes open. Don't leave."

"I can't stay up, Sasuke. I'm so tired," she mumbled, beginning to close her eyes.

"NO! Keep your eyes open. You can't leave me. Not after all that we've been through."

"I'm so sorry…Sasuke but I…" Her head lolled to the side, resting against his chest. He shook her by the shoulder.

"Sakura…get up. Don't do this. Please, don't do this. I love you, Sakura, I love you." But she didn't move. He cursed and buried his face in her neck, sobbing. Yuka staggered over to them, dropping down to her knees in front of them. She petted her sister's pink hair, tears leaking down her face.

Sasuke's head shot up and he looked up at Yuka with tormented eyes. She wiped away her tears and slipped her arms under Sakura's knees and head. He tried to hold onto her and she understood why. "Sasuke, I'm going to take her back to Tsunade to see if she can do anything to save her."

He nodded, slowly releasing his hold on her.

"You have to kill off Orochimaru. You have a little less than an hour," she whispered, "before the explosives go off."

He nodded again. "Just please bring her back."

She stood, cradling her sister in her arms as she ran towards the staircase. Sasuke got to his feet and turned towards the snake lord that was glaring daggers at him. "Sasuke-kun, go after them, now!"

"I refuse to listen to you any longer. You said that as long as I agreed to join you that they would be safe and that they wouldn't be in any harm."

"I didn't know that they would suddenly come to attack us."

"Yes you did."

"At any rate, you couldn't attack me even if you tried. All I have to do is give the command and you'll bend to my will."

Sasuke could feel his control over his body slipping and struggled to keep the control. "You can't control me, anymore."

* * *

Yuka ran up the stairs and came to the first floor just as Naruto, Temari, and TenTen came up from the basement. The three gasped when they saw Sakura laying limp in Yuka's arms. She looked at them with red and puffy eyes from crying as she climbed her way up the stairs. She couldn't stand the feeling of blood seeping through her clothes.

Naruto came and scooped Sakura into his arms. "I can tell how much you can't stand feeling her in your arms like this. I'll carry her back to the mansion."

"Where's Itachi?" she asked.

"He must be still fighting Ichino and Kabuto," TenTen answer.

"I'll go get him."

"There's no need to." Itachi came down the stairs with a handcuffed Ichino being dragged behind him. "Where's Sasuke?"

"He's down fighting Orochimaru. He made Sasuke…kill…Sakura."

That's when he noticed Naruto holding a limp and bloody Sakura in his arms. Then an explosion shook the castle, causing bricks to fall out of place and land on around them. Neji, Sai, Kakashi, and Yamato came running down the stairs towards them.

Shikamaru's voice came on over the wireless. "Guys, whatever just went off in there just upped the timer to thirty minutes. You guys need to grab Sasuke and get out of there pronto or everyone's going to be caught in the explosion."

"But Sasuke has to kill Orochimaru. If he doesn't, he could come back create even more problems than what we had before," Temari said.

"At this rate we all don't have time to race around. Itachi, go in after Sasuke while Naruto and Yuka take Ichino and Sakura back to the mansion," Kakashi instructed. "Everyone else is to stick with Jiraiya and Shikamaru out by the bikes."

Everyone nodded and ran to where they were instructed to go. Yuka jumped on her bike with Ichino behind her, his arms around her waist, and sped off. Naruto had Sakura cradled in his arms with one arm while the other steered the bike.

* * *

Shikamaru and Jiraiya stood in the trees watching the mansion as everyone else ran towards them. He counted everyone and then asked, "Where's Itachi and Sasuke?"

"Their down in the basement somewhere," Temari answered.

"They need to hurry up. They only have ten minutes." He began to panic and pressed the button on the wireless. "Itachi!"

"What?" he growled. Shikamaru could hear swords and weapons clashing against each other in the background.

"Where the hell are you?! You've only got ten minutes to grab Sasuke and get out of there. Hurry the fuck up!"

"I kind of can't. Not when Sasuke and Orochimaru are practically killing each other."

"Grab Sasuke and get out. Forget Orochimaru. Yuka and Sakura will be devastated in if either of you or both of you died. The explosion will demolish everything and everyone that's in there. GET OUT!!!"

The castle suddenly burst into flames, throwing bits of bricks all over. Everyone ducked to the ground, shielding their heads. Once everything had stopped falling around them, Shikamaru was the first one to his feet, running towards the edge of the tree line. Everyone could hear the screams of the vampires who weren't dead before the explosion as they burned in the fire. Everyone had the feeling that somewhere amongst those screams, Sasuke and Itachi were joining in.

* * *

Naruto burst through the front door, shouting Tsunade's name. She came racing up the basement stairs. She told him to take her upstairs into the sick room and told Yuka to call Shizune. Ichino stood in front of her, looking around. "Are you going to be able to save her?"

She sneered. "Why does it matter to you? You tried to kill her."

"At least I wasn't the one that did kill her. I told her that I was stalling as long as I could and she understood what I meant. I was forced to do what I did. The same jutsu that Orochimaru used on Sasuke to make him kill her is the same one he used on me. You think I really wanted this? I wanted revenge on my parents for making my life a living hellhole. I never expected him to go this far."

She eyed him carefully.

"Besides, I don't know what's going to happen to me once Sakura wakes up. Yuka said that she wanted to talk to me after they finished their mission. I could only comply because I wanted to get to know my younger sister better."

Yuka came back. "Tsunade-oba, Shizune-sensei is on her way."

"Thank you, Yuka." Tsunade turned and ran quickly upstairs, turning down the right hallway.

Yuka looked at Ichino. "So, explain to me what I just heard you telling Tsunade."

* * *

Everyone pulled their bikes into the separate garage, an hour later after the explosion. No one was ready to tell Yuka and Sakura what had happened. Everyone trudged slowly to the backdoor of the mansion. They saw Yuka and Ichino sitting side by side, talking idly on the couch. Yuka stood and rushed over to them. "I'm so glad you guys are back. Tsunade just told us that Sakura's going to make it. She was able to bring her back. She's still a vampire."

Jiraiya stepped forward. "That's really great to hear," he said, smiling uneasily.

"Jiraiya-oji, what's wrong? Is something wrong? Where's Itachi and Sasuke?"

"Oh, they uh…wanted to stop to get something. Ichino, why don't you go ahead and head up to talk to Sakura?"

He nodded and headed upstairs, leaving everyone else behind. Jiraiya looked at Yuka. "Yuka, we need to tell you something. It's about Sasuke and Itachi."

* * *

Ichino knocked on the door and head Tsunade tell him to come in. Pushing the door open, he saw Tsunade and Shizune standing n both sides of a deathly pale looking Sakura, who was laying in a giant, soft-looking bed. Tsunade nodded at him and looked back at Sakura. "Sakura, sweetheart, there's someone here to see you."

Her pale green eyes fluttered open and wandered around, landing on the man standing at the doorway. She gave a weak smile before closing her eyes and leaning farther back into the pillows.

Tsunade nodded for Shizune to follow her. They walked out of the room, leaving Ichino alone with his sister. He walked over to her bedside and pulled a stool up, clasping her hand in his as he waited for her to open her eyes. Their green eyes collided and she sighed. "I was afraid I'd never be able to thank you for stalling as long as you could. I was afraid I'd never be able to talk to you," she whispered.

He chuckled. "No one is this family is going to let you go without a fight to the death, Sakura."

She gave a breathy laugh. "I bet your wondering why I wanted to talk to you."

He nodded.

"It's because I wanted to know about what it was like to live with Kaa-san and Tou-san."

He cocked his head to the side. "What do you mean? I don't understand."

"When Yuka left, when she couldn't return because she was turned, our parents became uncaring and treated me terribly. Father would call me names and beat me sometimes if I didn't do exactly as he said. I had to do every chore around the house. They would throw parties while I was locked away in my room. The only thing that kept me going everyday was Kaji. I wanted to know what it was like to live with them before Yuka was born."

He sighed and told her about how their parents treated him like they should've: like a child of their own. He told them how sometimes their father would lose his control and beat him sometimes for things that were never his fault. He watched how her eyes would sparkle and how she'd laugh when he told her of happy memories.

"What about when Yuka came?"

"It kinda went downhill. Sure they paid attention to me, but not as much. I was just kind of a child there that didn't get the love that I wanted. One day I decided to run away, hoping that they would notice my absence and when I was found, they'd start loving me like they used to again. But while I was hiding, a vampire came and turned me. Knowing that I couldn't go back, I traveled around with him for a while, learning how to control myself around humans and all that."

Suddenly they heard a scream erupted from downstairs. Sakura sat up straighter. "That was Yuka."

He nodded and pushed her back to lay down. "I'll go check to see what's going on. Stay here and don't move, imooto. Okay?"

She nodded and watched as he left the room. "What could be going on down there?"

Ichino ran down the stairs and into the living room to see Yuka curled up on the floor and the other girls trying to calm her down. She pushed their hands away and continued to wail into her hands. "What's going on? Why'd Yuka scream?"

Jiraiya walked up to him. "We tried to get Itachi and Sasuke to get out before the explosives went off, but they didn't make it out."

He blinked a couple times before looking down at the carpet, ashamed. He knew that he was part of the cause of them getting caught in the explosion. "You have to tell Sakura."

"Not yet," Tsunade interrupted. "We'll just a little bit before saying anything."

"But she needs to know now. If you're not going to tell her, then I will." He turned to head upstairs when he heard Yuka scream, "Don't you DARE!"

Everyone froze as Yuka screamed at him. He didn't turned around to look at her when she continued to talk. "We said that we'd tell her when she gets better. If we tell her now, she'll refuse to let us help her. She'll try to kill herself by refusing to get better if we tell her now."

"But she'll also try to kill herself when we tell her later."

"We _are going_ to tell her _later_," she said firmly, leaving no room for argument. "We'll her that they didn't make it when she's better."

"Who didn't make it?"

Everyone saw Sakura leaning against the living room entryway. Ichino rushed to her side and wrapped his arms around her. "Imooto, I told you to stay upstairs. Why didn't you listen?"

"I wanted to know what was going on."

"We would've told you."

"What happened, Ichi-nii?"

He sighed. "It's about Sasuke."

"Where is he? Where's Itachi? What's going on? Where are they?"

"Ichino, don't tell her," Yuka seethed.

"She has a right to know just like everyone else. How would you feel if we told Sakura and not you that Sasuke and Itachi didn't make it out of the explosion?"

Yuka hissed at him as Sakura tensed in his arms. "What?"

He sighed. "I'm sorry, Sakura. But Sasuke and Itachi are gone. They didn't make it."

She stood there in shock before backing out of his arms, staring at him with wide eyes. "No, please Kami, no. You're lying! Sasuke wouldn't die like that. He promised that we would be together. He promised. You're lying!"

He took a step towards her, but she turned and ran up the stairs into the bedroom that she and Sasuke had shared. She flopped onto the bed, grabbed his pillow, and cried into it. Kaji poked her nose into the room before kicking it shut behind her and trotting up beside the bed. She nudged Sakura's leg with her nose before whimpering loudly.

"Not now, Kaji."

Kaji jumped onto the bed and laid down next to her master, laying her head on Sakura's back. She'd wait until her master had calmed down, for now.

* * *

A couple days passed and even though Yuka kept herself locked in her room, Sakura kept a fake smile plastered to her face, telling herself over and over that Sasuke would come back the next day for her. That was the only way for her to keep going, to keep moving without stopping. Everyone was worried for Yuka, but more for Sakura since she tried to be happy. They all knew that she knew that Sasuke wasn't coming back. One afternoon, she went outside into the backyard where she found Kakashi sitting on the porch, meditating. She waited a couple minutes before he put his hands together and have a short bow before looking up at her. "What can I help you with?"

"I was wondering if you tell me why you and Sasuke had left that night that he disappeared. He wouldn't tell me and I was hoping that you be able to."

He sighed and patted the spot next to him. "The reason that we had to leave was because when Sasuke was first changed into a vampire when Orochimaru bit him, he also gave him a curse mark. Since Sasuke was so bent on wanting to kill him, he wasn't sure how to control it since only Orochimaru knew how. If things got out of control, it would spread along his body in these weird marks. So, I put a seal on it and as long as he wanted the seal to work, it would. But the seal wasn't strong enough and that night he asked me to put a stronger seal on. He didn't want you to see it because he didn't want you to worry about him."

"So how would he get the curse mark off? I mean, there is a way to get it off, right?" He nodded. "Then why didn't you just get it off?"

"Because it'd only disappear if Orochimaru was killed."

"Oh."She looked at the ground. "So, Sasuke and Itachi really aren't coming back, are they?"

He closed his eyes and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Sakura."

She quietly began to sob into her hands as Kakashi laid a hand on her back and rubbed her back. _I'm so sorry, Sasuke. I wish I could've been stronger so I could've helped you. Please forgive me._

* * *

**_I want some suggestions for the next chapter. Please give me some or i might make end up making the chapter crappy by accident. Please keep reviewing. - J.J._**


	18. Chapter 18: Return To Me

Ichino walked down the stairs of Tsunade's mansion and went into the living room, finding Neji sitting in one of the armchairs with a book in his hands, Hinata going over to medical scrolls on the couch, Shikamaru laying in front of the fireplace asleep, and Naruto flipping channels on the television.

"Have any of you guys seen Sakura today? I haven't been able to find her anywhere and I wanted to talk to her about something."

"Have you checked her room?" Naruto asked.

He nodded. "Her bathroom door was locked but I couldn't sense her chakra signature in there. I've looked all over the bloody house and haven't sensed her at all."

"Did you ask everyone else if they knew?" Hinata inquired.

He nodded. "None of them knew. I know she went to bed earlier last night and I sensed her chakra signature earlier this morning, but I can't find her now."

They heard TenTen scream from upstairs and then the overwhelming smell of blood. Ichino and Neji raced upstairs into Sakura's room, bursting into the bathroom to see TenTen cradling a limp Sakura in her arms. Both men saw a blood-coated kunai on the floor with her blood pooled on the floor and a good-sized gash on her left wrist.

TenTen looked up at them with a tear-streaked face and said, "One of you has to get Tsunade. She's still alive. I know she is. Hurry!" Ichino raced down the stairs while Neji kneeled down in front of her. He stroked her cheek while she cried harder.

"Panda, you have to tell me what happened," he said softly, not wanting to upset her anymore.

"Ichino was looking for her earlier today and I decided to help him. When we still couldn't find her, he said that he'd go and ask you guys downstairs. I decided to check her room one more time and wanted to make sure she hadn't locked herself in the bathroom to escape from everyone. I forced the door open and I found her on the floor." She began to cry harder. "I'm scared for her, Neji."

"I know."

Tsunade burst into the room and kneeled down next to them. TenTen told her what happened while Tsunade quickly healed the wound and then pulled out a couple blood capsules. She told TenTen to tilt her head back and open her mouth. She dropped the tablets in and poured some water in her mouth. They massaged her throat downward to get the pill and water down. Ichino walked in, having watched the whole thing from the doorway. He gently picked his sister up and carried into the bedroom, laying her in the bed and pulling the covers up to her chin.

"How is she?" Yuka asked from the bedroom doorway, leaning against the frame.

Ichino didn't look at her as he spoke. "She'll be fine. She'll probably wake up later tonight at the earliest. If not, then tomorrow morning." He sighed. "I wanted to tell her that I had to leave tonight."

"What for?" Tsunade asked as they exited the bathroom, the bloody kunai in her hand.

"The vampire counsel sent me a message, saying that they wanted to see me. If I don't return within a month, they've most likely killed me off."

"And you're just going to leave without letting her know that you're going to be gone and might never come back?" Yuka demanded, her voice cracking and getting louder.

"I have to leave tonight and she might not wake up before I leave."

"Have you no respect for your sisters?" she shouted.

Sakura fluttered her eyes open and reached out to him with weak arms. "Ichi-nii?"

He grabbed her hands and sat next to her. "Listen, I got a message from the Vampire Counsel. I have to leave and I might not come back."

She began to breathe quickly. "No…no…you can't leave me…you can't. You...You promised that you'd stay here with me and Yuka. No." Tears began to spill down her cheeks. "You can't! Don't leave!"

Everyone left the room, and quietly closed the door as Sakura screamed at him. He gathered her in his arms and quieted her down, stroking her hair as she gripped his shirt in her fists, her knuckles white.

She looked up at him, her bottom lip quivering. "Don't leave me, Ichino. I don't want to lose anyone else. Please, don't go."

He sighed. "I have to go. If I don't, they'll come after me and kill me right on the spot. I know you won't be happy about that either. At least this way, I have a fifty-fifty chance of coming back."

"But you still have the chance of not coming back."

"How about this: I stay with you until you go back to sleep and then I'll leave."

She just stared towards the wall for a few minutes before nodding and slipping back under the covers. He kicked his shoes and socks off before climbed in next to her, pulling her in his arms.

"Imooto, I want you to know that no matter what happens to me, I will always think about you and Yuka and that I'll always be with you in your hearts. You can't ever get rid of me."

She giggled softly before clinging to him tighter. "I'm thinking about not going to sleep at all just so you won't leave me behind."

He chuckled. "You'll have to sooner or later. Those blood pills Tsunade gave you are going to put you right back to sleep."

She shook her head. "I don't want you to go."

"I know. I know. But I will see you again, I promise."

"Don't make promises that you can't keep," she mumbled.

He chuckled. "Get some sleep, imooto."

But she was already out like a light. He kissed the crown of her head. "I love you, imooto. I wish we could've known each other better than this." After staying with her for another hour, he silently slipped out of the bed and left, giving a tearful good bye to Yuka.

* * *

Another two weeks went by and soon, it was Sakura's birthday. She hated the days that went by, knowing that it was just another day that she couldn't spend with Sasuke and another day to realize that the love of her life wasn't ever coming back and neither was her brother. And it was even worse since it was her birthday. That Thursday they were forced to go back to school. Sakura and Yuka practically dragged themselves into the school building. Everyone in their family knew that things would never be the same but, they all had to be strong for the two sisters. They needed it desperately.

During their lunch period, everyone around the table was silent while Yuka laid her head on the table and Sakura just pushed her food around on her plate. She had grabbed food, thinking that she could try eating something, but it was no use. She had no appetite and she probably wouldn't have one ever again. She just couldn't eat. She pushed her food away from her and stood, grabbing her books with her. "I'll be right back, guys. I have to put something away in my locker."

No one questioned her as she left, knowing that she wasn't actually going to put something in her locker. When she had woken up the next morning after Ichino left, Tsunade made her put on a leather bracelet around her left wrist. She made Sakura promise not to take it off and she agreed, not wanting to upset her aunt anymore than necessary. She still had the scar of the crescent on her wrist from the cut she made.

She walked out towards the parking lot and hopped onto her bike, slipping her helmet on her head. She revved up the bike and headed out to the countryside. She didn't want to be in that confinement any longer. She knew that if she stayed there, she probably would've snapped and lost her mind.

* * *

Sakura ended up at a lakeside, the water rippling subtly as the fish pecked at the surface and the sakura and willow tree branches sways above her with the wind. The pink petals fell around her and in her hair. She caught a flower in her hand and set it on the lake surface, blowing it forward, and watching it float along until a fish jumped up and dragged it under.

She stood and drew her sword, going through the motions of training, even if it was with herself. She sliced through the air, imagining her opponent dodging her blade. Then, she dropped her sword and went through her training motions of karate and followed it with hand-to-hand combat.

Her stomach lurched and she turned, puking up the amounts of blood that the others had forced down her throat so that she wouldn't go into a frenzy. She had refused to feed, claiming that she wouldn't until Sasuke came back, even though she knew he wasn't. But that didn't stop her from not feeding. She wiped her mouth and picked up her sword, going back to her blade motions.

Her vision swayed and she could feel herself getting dizzy, but she ignored it. Nothing mattered now. Her mind, body, and soul had shattered and it'd only been two weeks. She couldn't imagine living any longer like this. Everyone was leaving her behind and she knew that it was only a matter of time before her sister left and everyone along with her. She stopped and turned the blade around in her hands, pointing it towards her chest. She had to end it. Enough was enough and she wouldn't live through this heartache any longer.

Arms wrapped around her waist from behind, a body pressed up against her back. She went to turn around, but the person wouldn't let her. She struggled. "Let me go!' Her voice was raw from not having used it often.

Soft lips ran along the shell of her ear before kissing the skin behind it. She knew those lips anywhere. They were always her undoing. She let out a breathy moan as the person's tongue snuck out and licked her skin.

"Sasuke…" she breathed.

"I'm glad that you remember my hands and lips, Sak. I've found you."

She nodded.

"What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be at school?"

She was suddenly furious and spun around in his arms, beating on his chest with her fists. "Where the hell where you?! I've lived in hell the past two weeks. I hate you! I hate you!" she screamed over and over. He let her punch him until she stopped and fell limp in his arms, sobbing uncontrollably. He stroked her pink hair, whispering sweet nothings in her ear.

"Why didn't you come back? I have been so miserable."

"Itachi and I were healing. Yes, we were caught in the explosion, but we weren't killed. We just had a lot of burns and broken bones thankfully. We were unconscious for probably about two days and after we woke up, we went looking around and couldn't find any trace of Orochimaru or Kabuto. So we presumed them dead."

"But for two weeks?"

He sighed. "Just to make sure we didn't make a mistake, we went searching around all of Japan to make sure they weren't still alive. I'm sorry if it upset you girl so much that we were gone."

"So, you don't have the curse mark anymore?"

"I'm assuming Kakashi told you about it." She nodded. He shook his head. "No, I don't the mark anymore. But, if Orochimaru is still alive, it'll come back sooner or later."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and crushed her lips to his. She moaned and wrapped her legs around his waist. He held her thighs, rubbing circles in her skin with his thumbs.

"Sakura?"

"Hm?"

"I love you. I love you so much and Happy Birthday."

She smiled through her tears. "Thank you, Sasuke. I love you too."

* * *

Yuka stood by the front door, looking out the window, waiting to see her sister pull up in the driveway on her bike. But she'd been waiting for at least three hours now since school had been over. With each passing minute, she grew more and more worried that she had disobeyed Tsunade and sliced her wrist again. She felt large hands lay on her shoulders and looked back to see Sai smiling at her with his famous fake smile. "I'm sure that you're sister is going to be alright."

"Sai, I can't help but worry. I don't know what's going on and I've asked Hinata to look for me, but she hasn't seen anything. I'm worried that either she's killed herself or she's purposely blocking her. Besides, I know you don't really care."

Jiraiya walked in. "I'm sure that she's on her way back right now."

"But if she's anything like what I remember her to be, she'll kill herself to be with Sasuke again."

They heard a motorcycle's engine come tearing up the driveway and all looked out the window to see Sakura pull up in front of the house with someone sitting behind her with their arms around her waist. Yuka threw open the door and ran up to her as she climbed off the bike. She squeezed her tightly as she cried. "Please, don't ever leave for so long. I was so scared for you, Sakura. I was afraid you'd done something to yourself."

She shook her head against her sister's shoulder. "I was going to but someone stopped me. I didn't think that I was really awake when he stopped me." She looked back as Yuka looked up. The person on the bike slipped the helmet off and smirked at her.

"Sasuke…How?"

"It's a long story. But I'm sure Itachi can tell you all about it."

Someone landed behind them and wrapped his arms around her waist, laying his chin on her shoulder. "Did you miss me, Yuka-chan?"

She gasped and spun around, smashing her lips against his. It took him off guard and they went tumbling backwards. Sakura laughed while Sasuke just shook his head. Itachi chuckled against her lips and pulled away, smiling at her. "I knew you missed me, but I never knew it was that much. I should go missing more often."

She laid against his chest, tears streaming down. "Please, don't. I don't want to suffer through this anymore."

Naruto poked his head out, grinning. "Is it really true? Teme and his brother are back?"

Sasuke smirked up at him. "Quit calling me that, dobe. It's Sasuke and Itachi."

Naruto laughed. "Yep, definitely the teme."

Sakura grabbed his hand and led him inside while Yuka helped Itachi to his feet. Sasuke pulled her to the side and pinned her against the wall. "Listen to me, Sakura. I've been thinking about this for a while. You said that you wanted us to have fun, like go to the park and stuff like that. I can't promise that we'll be able to do everything that you want, but I'm going to try my hardest to do everything that you want to do."

She smiled up at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you, Sasuke. I'm so glad that you're back."

"I love you too, Sakura."

* * *

About two months later, when summer vacation had started, Sakura awoke later than usual with the sheets wrapped comfortably around her naked form. The room was still dark, even if it was almost noon because Sasuke had bought some blackout curtains for their room. He was laying on his side, running his hand through her pink tresses, smiling down at her. "Morning, sleepy head."

She yawned and snuggled further into his chest. "I'm still tired."

"How could you be? That's all you've ever been doing that past couple weeks. Not to mention the fact that you throw up in the mornings after you wake up."

"Don't mention it," she groaned.

He chuckled, kissing the top of her head. "Go back to sleep if you're still so tired."

She nodded and closed her eyes. Sasuke had just felt her body relax before she shot out of bed and into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her. He could hear her puking into the toilet. He sighed. This had been going for the past three weeks. He didn't understand it. He talked to Tsunade about it and she said that she had no idea what it could've been, although he suspected that she might have an idea of what was happening. She just told him that they'd just have to wait until something happened or something noticeable changed.

Later that day, when the girls had been able to drag their significant others with them to the mall, the guys were waiting outside the dressing rooms when Sasuke suddenly heard Sakura scream. He was about to go in after her to make sure she was all right when Ino ran out, dragging Sakura behind her. Sakura had a frantic and dazed look on her face. As Ino laid the clothes over the counter, asking the woman to hold them, Sasuke went up to his fiancée and asked, "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

She wrapped her arms around her stomach and bit her lip. "Just wait here until I get back. This is really important so just stay here, okay?"

He nodded hesitantly and watched as Ino, Yuka, and Sakura ran out of the store. Hinata, TenTen, and Temari were still in the dressing rooms. But none of them would let up as to what was wrong with Sakura and Sasuke was beginning to worry about her.

About thirty minutes later everyone was in the food court, still waiting on Ino, Yuka, and Sakura to get back. Sasuke stood up suddenly. "I'm going to go look for them. This is taking too long."

TenTen and Temari suddenly grabbed his hands, pulling him back down in his chair. "Don't do that, Sasuke. I'm sure they're on their way back. We did send them a text that we were in the food court and they did respond."

Shikamaru sighed. "You women are so troublesome."

Temari's eyes flashed at him. "What was that?"

"Nothing."

"Why must you always make so much noise?"

Everyone looked up to see the three girls back. Sasuke quickly pulled Sakura into his arms. "Are you alright?" he whispered into her hair.

She nodded, clinging to him tightly. "I have to tell you something, later."

"Alright." He kissed her forehead. "Everything's going to be okay, right?"

She nodded, smiling up at him. They all sat around the table, conversation picking back up, avoiding the topic of their disappearance. Around sunset, they arrived back at the mansion, Sakura quickly dragged Sasuke back up to their room, slamming the door shut and locking it. Sasuke pulled her to lay on the bed with him, Kaji lifting her head at them. She barked and Sakura threw her a treat before looking back at Sasuke. He nodded for her to tell him her news.

"Okay, so you remember how Ino dragged me out of the store with Yuka, right?" He nodded. "Well, she dragged us out to the car and drove us to the pharmacy across the street for me to get a pregnancy test, because the idea that I might be pregnant popped into her head and it freaked me out that I could be pregnant. That's why I screamed."

"Sakura, you're rambling."

She blushed. "Sorry. So, she made me take the pregnancy test and I couldn't believe what it said."

"Is it bad?"

"Well, it depends on your opinion about it. We didn't believe it, so she made me take two more."

"And the results on all of them were?"

"That I'm pregnant."

He stared at her for a few minutes before pushing her on her back and activating his Sharingan, staring at her stomach. She waited, knowing what he was looking for. He pulled her shirt up and leaned down, planting a kiss just above her navel. He laid his cheek against her stomach, trying to listen to the baby's heartbeat. "It's faint, but I can hear it," he whispered.

She smiled, combing her fingers through his hair. "So, you're not mad?"

He looked up at her. "Why would I be mad?"

"Well, Ino told me that you'd be mad because we weren't married yet and I was pregnant."

He chuckled. "Don't listen to the other blonde loud-mouth. She doesn't know what goes on in my mind."

She smiled. "I'm happy that we're going to have a baby, Sasuke."

"As am I. Does Tsunade know?"

"She suspected it and she said that if I was, I'd be about four weeks pregnant."

He smirked at her. "I love you, Sakura. You've just made me the happiest man and soon-to-be-father alive."

She laughed. "I'm gad you're excited about this."

"I can't imagine how you would think that I wouldn't."

* * *

After another three months, when Sakura was just beginning to show that she was pregnant, the girls has decided to go out looking for maternity clothes for her. She kept telling them no over and over again. She didn't want to believe that she was getting too big for her clothes. She liked some of the clothes that she wore. Most of the maternity clothes around were just way too girly for her and she would not be forced into those kind of clothes. But they were persistent and convinced her finally to go with them, promising to get her a brand new guitar if she went.

Sasuke wasn't happy that he couldn't go with her to make sure she would be okay. He scowled at the girls when they pushed him back into the house when he tried to follow them. Sakura gave a hug and sweet kiss before running back towards the girls and getting in the car.

After looking through four maternity stores and spending about an hour in all of them, Sakura begged the girls if they could go to the food court and get something to eat so she could eat something and get off her feet.

They were sitting at a table with bags surrounding their feet full of clothes that Sakura thought were unnecessary. Some were, but she knew that as soon as she had the baby, those clothes were going into a box and up in the attic until she had another baby, if they decided to have one again.

"Hello? Sakura?" Ino waved her hand in front of her face.

She shook her head. "What?"

"We were talking to you and you were completely zoning out. We were asking you and Yuka if you'd heard from Ichino lately."

She sighed and shook her head, setting her chopsticks down on top of the container of food. "He told me that he would be back. But…what if they killed him?"

"I don't think that they killed him. Not if he told them the whole story that he told us. If he did tell them, then they wouldn't kill him," Temari said. She knew more about the vampire counsel than the rest of them did, her father having worked for them while her mother stayed at home with her. She was the only one out of the entire group that was born from two vampires.

"Then why hasn't he come back yet? He promised Sakura and I that he would come back. So where is he?"

Hinata gasped and then spun around in her chair, scanning the crowd. The girls went into defense mode, thinking that Hinata saw someone attacking them. She turned back around and smiled at the pink-haired sisters. "I just had a vision that I know you two are going to love."

"What?"

"Okay, this may have been in the past or it could be now, but I saw Ichino in all black clothing. He had the trench coat, army boots, cargo pants, gloves, marina shirt, and everything. Do you know what that means?"

The two girls shook their heads while Hinata and Temari sighed. Ino and TenTen just looked at each other confused as well.

"It means that they're part of the Vampire Counsel Guard, the ones that go and kill the crazed vampires, the ones that go and rescue newborn vampires, and the ones that send out orders to vampire covens to house a vampire or two."

Yuka and Sakura gasped. "Are you serious?" they asked in unison.

Hinata nodded. "And I saw him meeting us, but I don't know where. But I have a feeling that it's going to be soon." She looked past their shoulders and smiled.

"It's been a while since I left, hasn't it?"

They squealed and jumped their brother, nearly knocking him over and causing heads to turn towards them. He laughed loudly at their enthusiasm and hugged them back, his voice a little deeper than before. "It's good to know that you two missed me so much."

"Are you kidding?" Yuka demanded, smacking his arm.

"We were afraid that they killed you or something. How could you not let us know that you were alright?" Sakura said, as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

He rubbed her back while Yuka leaned against his side. "They wouldn't permit me until I proved that I would be a great asset to their guard. They gave me permission yesterday to come and see you two."

Sakura looked up at him. "Ichi-nii, Sasuke and Itachi aren't dead. Did you know that?"

He smiled and nodded, kissing her forehead. "I also found out that you were pregnant."

"How?"

'The vampire counsel knows everything. I asked them to tell me anything that they found out about this coven. So, how far along are you?"

"Four months.'

He rubbed her stomach softly, feeling soft little thumps against his hand. She giggled at his surprised look. "You'll have to keep me posted about your pregnancy."

She laughed and they went to sit back down at the table. They chatted some more with Ichino about his five months of being there already. They noticed that he talked fondly about this one woman that he had met on his first day of being part of the guard that was two human years younger than him.

"What's her name again?" Ino queried.

"Yuriko. She's a very nice woman. We hang out a lot sometimes after training sessions are over. Also, we go on missions a lot."

"Seems to me like you like this woman," Ino accused, wiggling her eyebrows at him.

He blushed and turned his head to the side. "I…I don't know what you're talking about."

Yuka laughed. "Of course you don't. Not that we haven't noticed that about ninety percent of the conversation was about her or what she's done while you were around. No, I don't think you like her at all.'

"Really?"

"Of course I think you like her. You've got six women here that all think that you like her. Trust us, if a man talks about a woman non-stop, he definitely likes her."

"Damn women and their knowing abilities," he mumbled.

"It's just because we know things. It's a woman's intuition," Sakura said, shrugging as she took a sip of her slushy.

He groaned. "Okay, I really like her but when I tried to ask her out, I chickened out and complimented on her combat skills. I really want her to be my girlfriend, but what's the point in wanting something when you're too chicken to try and get it?"

"Just man up and go for it," Temari said, pounding him on the back.

"Are you calling me weak?"

"Yeah, what are you going to do about, little man?"

He growled and stood up, towering over her, getting in her face. "I'm going to ask her out and I'm not going to back out. If I do, I'll probably end up beating myself up for it in the end."

"I'm sure you'll be alright," Yuka assured, patting his hand.

Hinata gasped before someone came up behind her and covered her eyes. She heard the girls laughing before relaxing, knowing that she was in no immediately danger. The girls watched as Naruto asked Hinata in a deep voice to guess whom it was. They saw her expression change and guess random names.

Sasuke stood behind Sakura, leaning down to kiss her cheek before standing her up and taking her seat, setting her on his lap.

Sakura sighed as everyone talked. She knew that things were much better than when they started out. Hell, she never thought that she would end up with the man of her dreams in the long run, much less end up pregnant before she got married. She was just glad that she had her sister back and got to meet her older brother and not have him get killed.

Things were looking up for everyone and she knew that things would only get better as their eternal lives went on.

* * *

_**How was it? Please review. I haven't been getting many and i really want to know what you thought about this chapter. I need feedback! Please, please, please, review!**_


	19. Chapter 19: When It Could've Been Over

_**This is the last chapter of **_**Trapped_. I hope you guys enjoy it. =_]  
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* * *

**"Kaya, get back here, you little rascal!" Sakura called after the wet, naked little one year old. The little girl ran down the hall away from her mother and into her parents' bedroom to find her father sitting with her brother on the bed as they played with some of the colored blocks.

"Dada!" she cried, her arms outstretched to him. He chuckled low in his chest and picked her up just as Sakura came into the room, huffing with a towel over her shoulder and her hair dripping with water.

"I take it she splashed you with water and ran."

She nodded and stalked over to them, ready to take Kaya back to the bathroom to dry her off. But she snuggled into her father's neck, saying no. Sakura sighed and gently pried her from Sasuke, wrapping her up in the towel. She started to fuss and Sakura gave her a pacifier. She laid her head on her mother's shoulder, messing with the pacifier.

"I think she's tired, Sak."

"Yeah, I know. I just wanted to get her dry before putting her down for her nap."

Toshiro slid to the floor, tugged on her pant leg, and said, "Hun-gy."

"Daddy has to feed you, Shiro. I have to get Kaya dried off." When Sakura had the twins she had to breastfeed them until they were seven months. After that, they had to give them bottles of blood or feed them their own blood. Unfortunately, it was their normal instinct when they were hungry and couldn't get any food right away that they would go and hug some one and then kiss them on the cheek. It would render the person unconscious, taking most of their life energy away. That a vampire child's way of feeding until they could learn how feed off of people and animals.

Kaya lifted her head and wrapped her arms around Sakura's neck tightly. Sakura walked back into the bathroom and began to gently dry her daughter off while humming a soft lullaby. Kaya's eye began to drift shut and Sakura put a diaper on her, knowing that she hated sleeping in anything else besides that during her naps. She picked up the sleeping child and carried her back into their room to find Sasuke and Toshiro gone. She laid her on the bed and laid next to her, continuing to hum. The smell of warm blood wafted through the mansion and she held her breath, not wanting to get tempted.

It still amazed her that she and Sasuke were married with children. During her pregnancy, they were able to rebuild their mansion and move into it immediately. It was just like their old one, just more updated, with more furniture, and an extra room. That room was for the twins at night. It was be their nursery and room, and it was right next to Sakura and Sasuke's.

On the day that she had the twins, she was with the girls at the mall and Ichino had happened to stop by, saying that he owned them a visit. They were walking through Macy's when she felt a sudden sharp pain and grabbed Ichino's hand. Only when he asked her what was wrong did her water break and spill all over the floor. Ichino carried her out to his car while the girls had tried to call Sasuke, which went straight to voice mail. In the car, she couldn't stop the curses at her brother and the screams that erupted from her chest. When they reached the hospital Sasuke and Kakashi were already there and Ichino pulled up in front of them so they could help her out. She clung to Sasuke and sobbed in his shirt about the pain while Kakashi wheeled up a wheelchair and Sasuke settled her into it. Nurses and doctors had rushed around them and told Kakashi to follow them.

In the room, Sakura had to suffer through three hours of contraction pains just because she wasn't dilated enough and they refused to give her an epidural. She was either on her feet, sitting down, or laying on her side. She just couldn't keep still and it didn't help that Sasuke was constantly growling at the doctors when they said they couldn't give her the epidural. Going into the fourth hour, she suddenly screamed that she could feel one of the heads and she had to push. Kakashi ran out of the room to get a doctor while Sasuke tried his hardest to get her to not start pushing.

She was in labor for a grueling two hours before the twins were brought into the world, wailing loudly into the air. The only problem was the Kaya was partially colorblind. They weren't sure what colors she wouldn't be able to see, but it would show up soon enough.

Sasuke walked into the room, carrying a sleeping Toshiro in his arms. "I'm going to put him in their room."

"I'll be right there."

He disappeared and Sakura gently picked Kaya up in her arms and carried her into the room right next to theirs. Kaji bounded up next to her and nudged her leg. "Hold on, Kaji. Stay out here; you know you're not allowed in the nursery." She went and laid Kaya in her crib next to her brother. She turned on her side and cuddled up next to Toshiro. Sasuke wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"I'm grateful to have the three of you in my life," he whispered in her hair.

She smiled and grabbed his hands, dragging him out of the room and closing the door quietly. They headed downstairs with Kaji following behind them and into the living where they flopped on the couch as Kaji laid under their feet.

Naruto jumped onto the couch next to Sakura. "When are they going to wake up, Sakura-chan?"

"Weren't you just playing Toshiro not more than an hour ago?"

"I know but it's so fun to play with them."

"That's only because they like to beat you up, dobe," Sasuke muttered.

"That's not true, teme. They actually like to play with me," he huffed.

"You wish. That's only your imagination speaking for you."

"Sakura-chan!" he whined. "Are you seriously going to sit there and let teme insult me like that? He's being meaner than usual."

"You should be used to that by now, Naruto," Yuka said, walking with Itachi and settling into the love seat, turning on the TV. Kaji got up and jumped on the furniture next to her, not wanting to be caught in the fight if any kicks or fists flew.

Sakura reached up and knocked her husband in the head with her knuckles. "What was that for?" he asked.

"Stop being so mean to Naruto. He hasn't done anything bad today. It's not his fault that Kaya and Toshiro have him wrapped around their finger."

"Sakura-chan, that's not helping!"

"Well, too bad. Besides, you're going to have to wait about two hours because they're not getting up before that so that play with them again."

He pouted and crossed his arms. "That's not fair."

Sasuke sighed. "Instead of trying to hog my children for yourself, why don't you just have some of your own?" Sakura gave him a look, knowing just what was about to go through his head at the thought. "On second thought, dobe, maybe it would be best if you just kept on doing what you're doing."

Naruto shot up from the couch and ran up the stairs, calling Hinata's name. The other three occupants in the room gave Sasuke a look, which he just shrugged at. "Was that really necessary?" Itachi asked. Kaji slid down off the love seat to to the rug.

He ran a hand over his face. "I'm tired of him not letting me get any time in with my kids. If he wants to play with children so much, why doesn't he just have some of his own? It's starting to piss me off."

"Why don't you just tell him that you'd like to have some more time with our kids? I mean, they are half yours anyway," he smirked.

"I already tried that but, Kaya and Toshiro were too busy trying to pull his hair out to bother with me."

Yuka tapped her chin. "Maybe you should let them pull your hair out."

He glared. "I think not."

"He loves his hair too much," Sakura mumbled.

He pinched her side. "Whatever."

Naruto came back down the stairs, looking dejected sitting on the floor next to Kaji. He looked at the dog. "You don't hate me, do you?" Kaji licked his cheek and laid her head on his leg.

"What happened this time, Naruto?"

"When I went to talk to Hina-chan, that bastard Neji kicked me out of my own room saying that Hinata was busy looking into the future for something. She agreed with him and said that she would talk to me later."

"Aw, you poor thing," Sakura cooed.

"Don't baby me, Sakura-chan. I don't like it."

Yuka mumbled something and Naruto's head snapped towards her. "What?!"

"I said that uh...Hinata must be looking for something really big if she doesn't have time for you. It seems like she always has time for you."

"Don't mention it." He laid back on the floor.

* * *

The next morning, Ino had barged into their room saying she and Sakura needed a girl day, just the two of them since they hadn't had one in forever. When Sakura tried to protest Ino insisted that they needed to get going because they had numerous sales going on and they needed to get a head-start. Sasuke tried to step in and tell Ino that Sakura wasn't going anywhere, but Ino just yelled at him that he needed to stop trying to keep Sakura all to himself, all the while jabbing her finger in his chest to get her point across.

Sakura had told Ino that the only way she was going to go anywhere was if she could take Toshiro or Kaya with them. Sasuke said that he'd watch Kaya, saying that he was going to go visit Tsunade to see if she tell anything about Kaya colorblindness.

So, here she was, walking around with Ino with Toshiro in her arms. They had reached the mall when she realized that she had forgotten the stroller back at home. So, she had to carry him around, not that he was opposed to it anyway. His dark green eyes were darting around looking at everything and pointing at them.

They ended up going to Macy's, Spencers, Books-A-Million, Claire's, and Hot Topic. At Hot Topic, Toshiro had ended up pointed at the woman at the cash register and the million piercings that adorned her face. She glared at her and Toshiro. Sakura quickly grabbed her purchases and slinked out of the store, dragging Ino behind her.

"Did you see the way that chick glared at you and Shiro? What a…witch," Ino said. She had to remind herself to make a conscious effort not to curse around the toddler.

Sakura sighed. "It's only because I never bring him or Kaya to the mall. If I did, he wouldn't be pointing at everything and everyone."

"Well, you should bring them here more often. I'm sure Kaya would love to start pointing at people with millions of piercings as well."

She glared at her friend. "Shut up, Ino. Hey, can we stop at Hollister real quick? They had these pair of skinny jeans that I thought were really cute."

Ino gasped. "Please tell me that you're not turning into some Hollister-Abercrombie & Fitch-Aeropostale freaks."

"Of course not. I just want a pair of jeans. Why is that so bad?"

"Because of the place that you want to get them from. I'm not going in there with you. I will not be caught dead in there."

"Really? Because I think I just saw Sai disappear in there not three minutes ago."

"Are you serious?" She nodded. "Oh, hell no." She ran in there searching for her husband who wasn't even at the damn mall, unbeknownst to the ever oblivious Ino. Sakura quickly ran in and grabbed the pair of jeans she wanted to try on. Since she knew that she wouldn't be able to find Ino to hold Toshiro for a minute – and she knew the blonde would bite her head off as soon as she saw her anyway – she had to take him with her into the dressing room.

She set him down on the chair that was there and pulled out a ring of plastic keys for him. He grabbed them and shook them in the air at her. She gave his chubby cheek a kiss before changing at vampire speed into the jeans and looking at herself in the mirror.

Toshiro slid off the seat and wrapped his arms around her leg, looking up at her with wide innocent eyes. "Mama."

She kneeled down and wrapped him in his arms. "Oh, Shiro, you are just the cutest little thing." She lifted his shirt and blew raspberries on his tummy. He just laughed his cute laugh that only toddlers could accomplish and tried to push her head away. She set him back down on the chair and decided that she didn't like the jeans after all. She changed back into her pair of jeans and picked Toshiro up as he began to gnaw at the yellow plastic key ring.

She hung the jeans on the rack she found them on and walked back out of the store, surprised that Ino wasn't out yet. She leaned against the side of the store, waiting for her to come out. Not but two minutes later, Ino stormed out the there, fuming wildly. "I didn't see him in there. You tricked me."

"No, I didn't. I just saw him leave."

Ino shook her head. "You're such a dirty liar. His scent was nowhere in that store."

Sakura laughed. "It's your fault for believing me. You should know better. But on another note, you stepped foot in a store you said you'd never be caught dead in."

Sh fumed wildly, then crossed her arms childishly. "Whatever. It's time for us to go anyway."

Sakura sighed, whispered a silent thank you, and situated her son on her hip before following her out of the mall. As they passed by the food court, Toshiro pointed out at it and Sakura nodded. "Yes, sweetie, that's where you get food. Now, please stop pointing." As she looked around, she happened to notice a woman with red hair, short on one side and long on the other and black rimmed glasses. She stopped and tugged on Ino wrist.

"Hey, what's the–"

"Ino, look." She pointed at the red-haired woman and Ino gasped.

"No, way. Yuka said that you killed her and I saw it on the screen. She's…she can't be…unless…" Both women looked at each other and began to run to the parking lot. Sakura hurriedly strapped Toshiro into his car seat and climbed into the passenger seat and Ino turned on the ignition.

"We have to go and tell Tsunade what we saw. She'd know what to do," Sakura declared. Ino nodded and sped onto the highway.

* * *

Kaya held the red block in her hand, her bottom lip jutting out in a pout as she studied it. Sasuke laid on the mat beside, propping his head up on his elbow as he watched her with the red block. Tsunade stood off to the side, jotting down notes every now and then.

"Do you think it's red?" Sasuke asked as Kaya set the block down and went for another red one.

"Probably. That's the only one she seems to be going for and she seems to look at it more than play with it."

Kaya grabbed threw the red block down and went after another one. She crawled over to Sasuke and held it out to him. "Ish!"

He took it from her. "It's not a fish, it's a block."

She cocked her head to the side. "Ock?"

He chuckled and sat up. She crawled over to the plastic keys and picked it up, shaking them in the air. Squealing tires could be heard outside and they heard Jiraiya open the door to see who it was pulling up in their driveway. Sasuke picked his daughter up in his arms and followed Tsunade down the stairs.

Ino and Sakura rushed in, carrying to sleeping Toshiro in her arms. "Tsunade!"

"Girls, slow down and lower your voices. What's with the rush? Is something wrong?"

"We saw someone at the mall," Ino huffed, slightly out of breath from her panic.

"Who?"

"Karin," Sakura answered. She didn't notice Sasuke flinch. "Toshiro wouldn't stop pointing and we passed by the food court and he pointed at her."

"Maybe it could've been someone else," Jiraiya tried.

"No, we saw her face!" Ino insisted. "She had the black rimmed glasses, the usual hair style, everything. It was her, we're sure about it."

Tsunade looked at Sasuke. "You said that Neji had Hinata looking into the future for something. Do you think she may have seen Karin coming back?"

He sighed. "I wouldn't doubt it. He had her looking in the future to make sure Orochimaru and Kabuto were really dead. She tried and it was unclear to her. She couldn't really see anything. Kakashi had told her to keep an eye out for anything that might pop up in the future, since it's always changing."

"Then we need to warn everyone else," Sakura said. "Orochimaru and Kabuto could still be alive and may have been able to block Hinata from seeing them in the future."

Everyone nodded. "Sakura, I'll put Toshiro's car seat in Sasuke's car and get a head start towards the house. Call Kakashi and let him know," Ino said.

She nodded and followed Sasuke up into the nursery while Tsunade and Jiraiya stayed downstairs. Sakura laid her son down in the crib that was in there while Kaya went back to the blocks. Sasuke pulled her into his arms and kissed fiercely.

She threaded her fingers through his hair. "Sasuke…"

"I can't let anything happen to you or the kids," he murmured against her lips.

"Nothing's going to happen to us."

"I know, because you're going to stay out of the battle this time."

"What?!"

"Sakura, the last time you were in the battle I thought that I had lost you. What if Oro somehow gets control over me again if he's still alive? He can do it because of the curse mark. I'm not going to let you get hurt like that again because of me."

"You can't make me."

"Sakura, think about this!" He shook her shoulders as he raised his voice at her. "You have to watch the kids because we don't know when they're going to attack and what's going to happen if you or no one else is there to protect them? I can't let you risk your life or theirs. Please, for my sake and the kids. Stay out of the fight to protect them."

She sighed. "Okay. But what if they don't attack for a while?"

"Same rule applies. Sakura, just…do this one thing for me."

She grumbled under her breath and agreed. "Fine, but it's again my will."

He smirked. "Stubborn woman."

She stuck her tongue out at him and he chuckled. Kaya waddled up to her and hooked onto her leg, holding a blue block out at her. "Oo."

She kneeled down. "Yes, it's blue. Can you bring me a red one?"

She titled her head to the side and then ran into her arms, snuggling against her breasts. She picked up the small girl and kissed the crown of her head, running her fingers over her black hair that was streaked with pink. Sasuke pulled out his cell and dialed the house number.

"Hello?" Kakashi was the one to answer.

"Kakashi, Ino is on her way back home. Sakura and Ino said that they saw Karin at the mall."

"What?!" In the background, he could hear Shikamaru and Temari ask what was wrong.

"I know. I didn't believe either. But they insist that it was her."

"Did she confront them?"

"No, but said that Toshiro pointed her out to them. Do you know if Hinata saw this or not?"

"She didn't. Neji had her looking for Oro and Kabuto. We didn't think about Karin. She's not that much of a threat."

"But she can be, especially to my kids. Have Hinata see if she can find out Karin is planning."

"I'm on it."

Sasuke flipped his cell closed and felt Sakura's delicate touch on his cheek. She was looking at him with worried eyes while Kaya bit on the blue block. "Your Sharingan…"

He sighed and closed his eyes, trying to calm down. "If he is still alive, I can't let him get anywhere near you three...ever."

"Sasuke, we'll be fine. Nothing's going to happen to us, I promise."

He pulled her into his arms as Kaya threw the block on the floor. He gave both of them a kiss and then looked at the sleeping Toshiro. "I just…I can't let him take anyone else from me. Not like my family."

* * *

"The winner…Ichino Haruno," the ref called.

Ichino breathed heavily as he pressed the edge of his sword against her neck, his other hand pressing her shoulder down into the ground. He couldn't help but drink in her features, like he always did when they were training: Her long, midnight blue hair fanning around her like a halo, her beautiful pale complexion, her rose red plump lips, and button nose. He could never get enough of her, even if she didn't know it.

Light topaz eyes looked up at him as his breath washed over her face, his body still straddling hers. "Looks like you've gotten faster," she whispered.

He blushed softly and pulled away, helping her too her feet. They walked back inside the Education and Housing building. The Counsel grounds took up a good two acres. There were four buildings total on the grounds. There was one for shopping, one for business, one for education and housing, and the last one was the court. The fields were only used for training for the guardians.

"Can I ask where you got your sword from, Ichino?"

He scratched the back of his head. "I actually went back to my human house and found it in the basement. It's quite old but it works wonders." He laughed nervously.

"Really?" She gave him a sly look.

He gulped. "Yeah." He hated it when she gave him those kind of looks. It always tempted him to kiss her.

"Because from what I've heard floating around, you were given that sword by Oro when you were under his influence."

"Well, Yuriko, are you going to believe what others say or what the source says?"

She hummed and smiled at him. He laughed nervously again and they walked up the stairs towards her room on the fourth floor. "How are your sisters doing?" she asked.

"Last time I talk to them, Sak and the twins were fine and Yuka was out in Okinawa with Itachi. But that was about a month ago. They should be back home by now."

She sighed. "Maybe one day, when I feel like I've done enough guardian work, I'll resign and maybe I can start a family too."

"Just make sure you don't have any renegade vampires coming after you like Sakura had."

She laughed. "Yes, that would be quite troublesome if I was become pregnant and someone come after me. Although…I would hope to have a husband of sorts that would be willing to protect me and our child." They stopped in front of her door. They stared at each other for a minute before looking away, blushing.

"I'm going to go take a nap, Ichino. Come and get me for the training session tonight, if I'm not up by then, I mean."

He smiled and nodded, watching as she slid the key in the lock and went in. "Um, Yuriko?"

She turned. "Yes?"

"Um…I was wondering, tomorrow, after our afternoon training session…do you want to grab something to eat with me?"

Her face lit up and he could tell that he just did the right thing. After waiting more than a year to finally summon up the courage to ask her on a date, he'd finally did it.

"You mean, like a date?" He nodded, not trusting his voice to not make a fool of him. "Ok, after training tomorrow. But if I win, you are definitely paying and you're taking me shopping."

He gulped. "If I win, I still pay, but no shopping trip."

She pouted. "Fine. Better give it your all."

"You know I will."

She walked up to him and went to kiss his cheek, but he turned his head and kissed her lips. She gasped and he slipped his tongue past her lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned into him. His fingers tangled into her hair while the other arms wrapped around her back. They turned their heads to deepen kiss.

Someone cleared their throat from off to the side and they pulled away, seeing a green-haired Aiko standing off to Ichino's left. He smirked at the two of them and crossed his arms. "You know Haruno-san, I came to tell you that your sister, Sakura, called the front desk for you but I can see you're quite busy. I'll just tell Kenji to tell her that you seemed to be tied up at the moment."

"Wait, what did she want?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I thought you were still in out on the training fields and I tried to tell her that you were busy, but she said that it was urgent."

He frowned and looked at Yuriko. "I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow." She nodded and he gave her cheek a kiss before following Aiko down the stairs and towards the front desk in the education department of the building. He picked up the phone and pressed the button for line two. "Hello?"

"Ichino!"

"Sak, what's wrong? Did something happen?"

"It's Karin!"

His throat tightened. "What? Sakura, she's dead."

"No, she's not. Ino and I were at the mall and Shiro happened to point her out. And I know it was her because of her hair, her glasses, everything. It was her."

"Alright, I need you to calm down. Do you know where she is right now?"

"Hinata tried looking for her, but she said that she's blocking her. We don't know where she could be."

"Ok, I'm going to talk to the head of the Vampire Counsel and tell them what's going on. I'll see if I can get them to let me come over there to scout things out."

"Ok. Please hurry."

"I will." He hung up and walked outside and towards the court building. Truthfully, the thought that the red-haired, screaming banshee would come back had never crossed his mind. So when Sakura had told him that she had seen Karin was back didn't quite settle comfortably with him. Now that he thought about it, he should've asked if Hinata had seen Orochimaru and Kabuto coming back. The thought of the snake lord and his asshole of a sidekick coming back didn't make his queasy stomach feel any better either. Wasn't it bad enough that Orochimaru had forced him to try and kill the last of his family? Now that he was part of the Vampire Counsel Guard, he had no doubt in his mind that should he ever come in contact the damned vampire snake lord that he would not hesitate to get him back, even if that included killing off his comrades in the process to get what he wanted.

He stopped. If that was the case, then he couldn't allow Yuriko to go on this mission. He would lose all control if Orochimaru or anybody laid a hand on her and tried to kill her. No, he would ask the Counsel to not let her go and substitute her with someone with somewhat similar fighting skill as her. He started walking again, knowing he that could not let her get hurt because of him.

He was just about to reach the doors when he saw a flash of red and suddenly, his sword and a giant kunai were grinding against each other. His eyes widened as deep red eyes connected with his forest green ones.

"What…?"

"It's nice to see you again, Ichi-kun."

He growled and started pushing her back. "What the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be dead."

She pouted mockingly. "Ichi-kun, didn't you miss me? I mean we are engaged, right?" She flashed the engagement ring he had given her. He growled and shoved her away from him.

"I was under Oro's influence and he had me do that. I never loved you, _Karin_."

She scowled. "Don't deny your feelings for me because you're just like Sasuke! You pretend to love someone and then you dump them like a rock, saying that you didn't like them in the first place."

"I didn't like you and don't you compare me to Sasuke. Like I said, Orochimaru made me like you. I wanted nothing to do with you. Although they were right when you said you were like a screaming banshee. I'm quite surprised that Orochimaru didn't dispose of you."

She screamed in frustration. "For your information, Suigetsu, Juugo, and I are the people that will be bringing him and Kabuto back."

"What?"

She laughed, realizing that she struck a nerve. "That's right. I hope this place will be ready for when we attack. We're going to have more people on our side and the Vampire Counsel will fall, just like your family."

"You leave Sakura and them out of this."

"That reminds me. I saw her and that blonde blue-eyed bitch Ino at the mall. I see she has a child. Orochimaru will love to here about this."

"Karin, don't you dare say anything to him about that."

"Oh, so it's true then? Oh, Orochimaru will not be pleased with this. After all, she does belong to him. Once he has her in his hand, we'll destroy that coven of hers."

He charged up her, ready to swing his sword. But she jumped back towards the trees. "Well, I hope your coven is safe because as soon as his and Kabuto's lives is restored, all hell will break loose and you, Ichino Haruno, will wish that you never left his side."

"You sound like he's your savior."

She scoffed. "Not quite. But close enough. I can't thank you enough for bringing me to him. I've gained quite a lot from it." She turned and started to walk away from him. "You might want to keep a close eye on your coven. They're going to disappear soon and no one will be able to save them from their demise."

He growled low in his chest and turned, running straight into the building. Two guards stood in front of towering dark cherry wood doors. They stopped him before he could advance any farther. "What business do you have with the counsel members?"

"They need to know immediately that Orochimaru and his minions are coming back and that we need to let every vampire in this area of Japan know so that they can be prepared for any attack he may issue on their coven."

* * *

_**So, there you go. The final chapter. Keep a look out for the sequel. I'm not sure when I'll post it since I'll be taking up my late summer job on Monday. But keep an eye out. I might post a sneak peak soon so that you'll know what to expect. I hope you enjoyed it and leave some reviews for me please. Thank You!**_


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